:punitive expedition

{{Short description|Military journey undertaken to punish a state}}

File:Malolo by Agate.jpg, Fiji in 1840 by Alfred Agate]]

A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavior by miscreants, as revenge or corrective action, or to apply strong diplomatic pressure without a formal declaration of war (e.g. surgical strike). In the 19th century, punitive expeditions were used more commonly as pretexts for colonial adventures that resulted in annexations, regime changes or changes in policies of the affected state to favour one or more colonial powers.

Stowell (1921) provides the following definition:

When the territorial sovereign is too weak or is unwilling to enforce respect for international law, a state which is wronged may find it necessary to invade the territory and to chastise the individuals who violate its rights and threaten its security.{{sfn|Stowell|1921|pp=41–42}}

Historical examples

File:Anglo-Dutch fleet in the bay of Algiers as support for the ultimatum demanding the release of white slaves on august 26 1816 (Nicolaas Baur, 1818).jpg by the Anglo–Dutch fleet in 1816 to support the ultimatum to release European slaves.]]

File:Épisode de l'expédition du Mexique en 1838.jpg raids San Juan de Ulua (Mexico) during the Pastry War (1838).]]

|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9902E2DB1730E033A25751C2A96E9C94659ED7CF

|title=A Victory for the Chinese; Japanese Driven with Heavy Loss from Ping-yang

|work=The New York Times

|page=5

|date=August 22, 1894}}

|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9902E7D7173DE633A25750C1A9679C94669ED7CF

|access-date=2008-08-24

|title=To Punish the Murderers; Great Britain Will Send Another Expedition to Benin City

|work=The New York Times

|date=January 13, 1897

|quote=The Daily News will to-morrow say that the Government has ordered that an expedition be formed to punish the murderers of the Benin City expedition. The punitive expedition, which will be prepared at Old Calaber, will be made up of men from the forces of the Niger Coast Protectorate and a contingent of sailors from the British West African squadron.}}

{{cite news

|last=Elser |first=Frank B. |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A0CE1DD163BE633A25757C1A9629C946796D6CF

|access-date=2008-08-25

|title=Assure Pershing of Co-operation; Gen. Herrera and Staff Greet Villa's Pursuers After 100-Mile Ride in Desert

|work=The New York Times

|date=April 14, 1916

|quote=The first Carranza General to exchange formal courtesies with General John J. Pershing, leader of the punitive expedition after Pancho Villa, came riding into camp this afternoon on a pacing gray horse and, seated on an empty hardtack tin, paid his respects, and inquired after the health of the American forces}}

|author-link=Niall Ferguson

|last=Ferguson

|first=Niall

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/opinion/24ferguson.html

|access-date=2008-08-25

|title=Cowboys and Indians

|work=The New York Times

|date=May 24, 2005

|quote=The United States also faces two other problems that the United Kingdom did not 85 years ago. The British were able to be ruthless: they used air raids and punitive expeditions to inflict harsh collective punishments on villages that supported the insurgents.}}

|last=Swami

|first=Praveen

|url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/praveenswami/100065335/china-is-treading-on-dangerous-ground/

|access-date=2010-12-16

|title=China is treading on dangerous ground

|work=The Daily Telegraph

|date=24 November 2010

|quote=Children who don't listen have to be spanked.

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916203522/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/praveenswami/100065335/china-is-treading-on-dangerous-ground/

|archive-date=2011-09-16

|url-status=dead

}}

  • The destruction of half of the operational ships of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy by the United States Navy in 1988 during Operation Praying Mantis was punishment for damaging USS Samuel B. Roberts by mining international waters of the Persian Gulf.
  • The 2016 Indo-Pakistani military confrontation began with alleged punitive "surgical strikes" carried out by India. These strikes were a punitive action in response to Pakistan's inaction in curbing the activities of terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, which India held responsible for the Uri attack.
  • The 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine has been described as a punitive expedition.{{cite web |last1=Bolton |first1=John Q. |last2=Senesac |first2=Andrew |title=Does Ukraine Spell the Death of the Operational-Level Offense? |url=https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/does-ukraine-spell-death-operational-level-offense |website=Small Wars Journal |date=17 March 2022 |access-date=25 May 2022}}{{cite web |last1=Vindman |first1=Yevgeny |title=Putin's War Is an Existential Crisis for the United Nations |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/01/russia-war-united-nations-ukraine/ |website=Foreign Policy |access-date=25 May 2022}}{{cite web |last1=Puri |first1=Samir |title=Russia Could Still Salvage Victory in Ukraine |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/putin-salvage-victory-in-ukraine-russia-invasion-takeover-war-division-destabilize-turkey-peace-ceasefire-negotiations-talks-donbas-crimea-nato-us-security-guarantees-11648674411 |website=Wall Street Journal |date=30 March 2022 |access-date=25 May 2022}}
  • Israel's 2024 invasion into the Hamas-run Gaza strip following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel has been labeled a punitive expedition.{{Cite web |title=Gaza-Israel: The Legal and the Military View |url=https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/gaza-israel-legal-and-military-view |access-date=2024-08-08 |website= |publisher=Gresham College |language=en}}

See also

Notes

{{Reflist|30em}}

References

  • {{Cite journal

|last=Gordon |first=Leonard

|year=1965

|title=Japan's Abortive Colonial Venture in Taiwan, 1874

|journal=The Journal of Modern History

|volume= 37 |issue= 2

|pages=171–185

|doi=10.1086/239635 |jstor=1878308 |s2cid=145215441

}}

  • {{Cite book

|last=Stowell

|first=Ellery Cory

|author-link=Ellery Cory Stowell

|title=Intervention in International Law

|location=Washington, D. C.

|publisher=J. Bryne & Co.

|year=1921

|url=https://archive.org/details/interventioninin00stowuoft

|pages=[https://archive.org/details/interventioninin00stowuoft/page/41 41]–42}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Penology