War, Peace, and Law is a six-week online course in Canvas developed by World BEYOND War and refined during multiple iterations over the years with six expert instructors each facilitating one week.
The course is available to universities, schools, teachers, and organizations that want to use it. Contact World BEYOND War if interested.
About War, Peace, and Law
War and peace are not only political struggles—they are legal constructs that shape global power, foreign and domestic policy, and everyday life. War is prohibited under international law, and numerous constitutions, treaties, and legal systems restrict, renounce, or seek to prevent it. Yet exceptions persist, enforcement is selective, and legal norms are routinely ignored, undermined, or exploited. The result is a world where war is illegal on paper but legitimized and normalized in practice.
This six-week online course explores how legal systems enable, constrain, and challenge war. Through case studies, legal texts, historical examples, and participatory discussions, you will examine how law has been used to justify war and violence, hold perpetrators accountable, and envision alternatives. Each module focuses on a distinct theme—whether conceptual, legal, political, or practical—and invites critical reflection on how legal norms are created, enforced, resisted, and reimagined.
Philosopher Immanuel Kant argued that peace must be grounded in law. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us that unjust laws must be opposed. From the Kellogg-Briand Pact to the UN Charter, the Geneva Conventions, and dozens of peace-oriented constitutions, legal frameworks exist to prevent war and promote justice—but they are often undermined, sidelined, or selectively applied.
Yet law is not fixed. Around the world, people continue to use it—as a tool of resistance, a path to reform, and a foundation for peace. There are many ways to move the world beyond war—and law is one of them.
Whether you see law as a barrier, a battleground, or a bridge to transformation, this course offers a clear and critical introduction to the legal dimensions of war and peace—and how they might be changed to help end war for good.
This course is 100% online and can be completed at your own pace. Weekly content includes a mix of text, video, images, and audio. Online discussion forums offer a space for mutual learning and exchange, where participants and facilitators raise questions, share challenges, and engage with the weekly content. Facilitators also offer feedback on submissions, including in the discussion forum and on assignments.
Learning Experience
The course includes two core components:
1) Six-week Online Course
Each week includes multimedia content—readings, videos, case studies, and podcasts—alongside discussion prompts and an optional assignment to deepen learning. You can complete the course at your own pace.
- Week 1: Written law – what does the law say?
Examine treaties, constitutions, and legal frameworks that define or criminalize war. Learn about the Kellogg-Briand Pact, the UN Charter, Geneva Conventions, and national constitutions—and how they are interpreted, violated, or ignored.
- Week 2: Using the law to stop war
Explore real-world efforts to hold war-makers accountable through legal action—via international courts, national legislation, truth commissions, and people-powered campaigns like BDS and universal jurisdiction.
- Week 3: The laws in which we operate
Analyze how war reshapes legal systems from within. Investigate states of emergency, repression, surveillance, and how militarism erodes rights, law, and democracy—from SOFAs to speech bans.
- Week 4: Violating the law to stop war
Examine how civil resistance, disobedience, and refusal to comply with unjust laws can prevent war and save lives. Includes case studies on whistleblowers, anti-drone protests, and resisting illegal orders.
- Week 5: The laws of a world BEYOND war
Envision legal systems grounded in peace, justice, and nonviolence. Explore proposals to outlaw war, close foreign military bases, reform the UN, embed peace rights in constitutions, and advance unarmed civilian protection.
- Week 6: Ideas for action
Put it all together. Reflect on how laws are upheld, broken, and reimagined—and develop your own strategy for using, challenging, or transforming legal tools to help move the world beyond war.
2) Three Interactive Live Sessions
Course Highlights
- Foundational insight: Explore how law acts as both a barrier to and a pathway beyond war—and how it can be applied in practical, visionary, and transformative ways.
- Core frameworks: Examine treaties, constitutions, and legal systems that define, restrict, or enable war.
- Global scope: Engage with legal traditions and case studies from across the world.
- Applied strategies: Discover how courts, truth commissions, and grassroots campaigns have used legal tools to prevent war and advance justice.
- Action planning: Learn how legal arguments, direct action, and public pressure combine to challenge militarism and drive systemic change.
- Collaborative learning: Join a diverse global community committed to nonviolence, legal accountability, and shared learning.
- Recognition: Earn a certificate from World BEYOND War upon completion of assignments and participation.
Who Is the Course For?
This course is open to anyone interested in how law can be used, challenged, or transformed to end war and build peace. It brings together people from diverse backgrounds—across disciplines, sectors, and geographies—who engage with the law in different ways: as a tool for justice, a source of struggle, or a system to be reshaped.
It is especially suited to:
- Students, scholars, and practitioners exploring the intersections of war, peace, and law
- Educators, activists, and peacebuilders seeking legal tools to resist war and militarism
- Policymakers, legal professionals, and diplomats working on justice, human rights, or international relations
- Campaigners, movement leaders, and organizers aiming to use—or subvert—the law to prevent, expose, or end war
Participants typically come from fields such as peace and conflict studies, international law, human rights, education, journalism, diplomacy, government, and civil society.
No legal training is required—just curiosity, commitment, and a readiness to engage.
Time Commitment / Expectations
How much time you spend and how deeply you engage is up to you. At a minimum, you can expect to spend between 1-2 hours a week if you only review the weekly content (text and videos). We hope, however, you’ll want to engage in the online dialogue with peers and experts. This is where the real richness of the learning occurs, where we have the opportunity to explore new ideas, strategies, and visions for building a more peaceful world. Depending on your level of engagement with the online discussion you can expect to add another 1-3 hours a week. Finally, all participants are encouraged to complete optional assignments (required to earn a certificate). This is an opportunity to deepen and apply the ideas explored each week to practical possibilities. Expect another 2 hours a week if you pursue these options.
Accessing the Course
Prior to the start date, you will be sent instructions for how to access the course.
Earn a Certificate
To earn a certificate, participants must also complete optional weekly written assignments. Instructors will return the assignment to the student with detailed feedback. Submissions and feedback can be shared with everyone taking the course or kept private between a student and the instructor, at the student’s choice. Submissions must be completed by the conclusion of the course.