'Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam' – Eine Analyse des völkerrechtlichen Gewaltandrohungsverbots

This Article examines an important but largely unnoticed aspect of international law: The prohibition of threats to use force under Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter.While international law scholars have analysed in detail the 'use of force' part of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, the 'threat to use force' component is by and large neglected. Hence, it is the objective of this paper to shed some light on this shadowy region on the map of international law and to develop a set of criteria that – taken together – constitute the so-called Begriffskern of the threat to use force concept.