debellatio

Noun

debellatio (uncountable)

1. (international law) Debellation, the annihilation of a sovereign state through complete destruction in a war.
   • According to the International Law doctrine of debellatio (KO’d by war), under which we profess to operate, it is the coalition, through Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III and his administration, that makes the important political and economic decisions for the Iraqis.2003 February 22, Victor T. Le Vine, “Factions Need Some Autonomy”, in St. Louis Post-Dispatch
   • The invasion of Iraq by the British and U.S.-led Coalition forces in March 2003 silently effected debellatio, the ancient doctrine by which a military victor takes title to territory in which the defeated government has ceased to function.2006, Melissa Patterson, “Who’s Got the Title: or, The Remnants of Debellatio in Post-Invasion Iraq”, in Harvard International Law Journal, volume 47, number 2, page 467