Keywords
Article 2(4)
jus cogens
jus ad bellum
UN Charter
state practice
exceptions-swallow-rule
Operation Epic Fury (2026)
US intervention in Venezuela (2026)
Responsibility to Protect
nuclear deterrence
legal uncertainty
How to Cite
Abstract
This article asks not whether Article 2(4) of the UN Charter has been eroded, but whether it ever exercised meaningful restraint over the states with the greatest capacity to use armed force. Drawing on conflict data (UCDP/PRIO, Correlates of War MID, Military Intervention Project) and qualitative case studies of Security Council permanent members’ behavior from 1945 through Operation Epic Fury (February 2026), the article argues that the prohibition functions as an analytical filter, not a physical barrier. The central mechanism is the progressive expansion of formally narrow exceptions (self-defense under Article 51 and Security Council authorization) by the most powerful actors themselves, without effective sanction. When exceptions expand to cover conduct indistinguishable from aggressive war, and no enforcement authority corrects the gap, the rule remains formally intact but generates legal uncertainty and fails to predict Great Power conduct. However, the swift legal condemnation of Operation Epic Fury demonstrates normative resilience. The article concludes that the system is structurally asymmetrical: the prohibition imposes rhetorical and diplomatic costs, but it has never stopped Great Powers from acting when their vital interests were at stake.
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