Military Justice in the Field: Law, Order and Violence in the Prosecutors’ Archives of Belgian Colonial Troops at ‘War’

2026/01/25 by Reinout Vander Hulst · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #German Colonialism and Identity Studies #Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics #International Law and Human Rights

paper · doi:10.1080/03086534.2025.2598629

openalex publication_date 2026/01/25 · openalex created_date 2026/01/26 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/14

Abstract

This article explores how Belgian colonial authorities used military justice to govern armed violence in Congo, focusing on the disruptions brought by the Second World War. Drawing on military prosecutors’ archives, it examines how colonial power adapted to exceptional wartime conditions while maintaining its monopoly on violence. The analysis traces the evolving relationship between law and order, the colonial framing of war, and the shifting balance between civil and military authority. The article contributes to broader debates on imperial governance and shows how military justice functioned as a key technology of colonial rule under pressure.

Discussions

• Check out the latest article 'Military Justice in the Field: Law, Order and Violence in the Prosecutors’ Archives of Belgian Colonial Troops at ‘War’' by Reinout Vander Hulst: doi.org/10.1080/0308... [bsky, 5 points, 0 comments]

Related

• Law, Order, and Empire: Policing and Crime in Colonial Algeria, 1870-1954, By Samuel Kalman
• Piercing the Colonial Veil?
• The development of Uganda’s military justice system and the right to a fair trial: Old wine in new bottles?
• The Warfare – Welfare Nexus in French African Colonies in the Course of the First and Second World War
• They Called It Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence