A lucid and radical defense of peace not as a sentimental refuge but as a legal principle and the foundation of democratic coexistence.

We live in a time when speaking of peace often provokes suspicion of naïveté, weakness, or even complicity. It is precisely this distortion that Critique of War Reason confronts, with theoretical rigor, ethical depth, and philosophical clarity. Legal philosopher Tommaso Greco dismantles the dominant narrative that frames war as natural and inevitable, and proposes a decisive shift in perspective: peace is not a utopia or a fragile truce, but the original principle that makes law, politics, and civilization possible. Engaging with thinkers such as Kant, Hobbes, and Clausewitz, and drawing on literary voices from Camus to Remarque, from Calvino to Hugo, Greco has crafted a powerful interdisciplinary essay on peace as a legal and political imperative. A vision rooted not in force or deterrence, but in mutual recognition, trust, and institutional responsibility. Because today, more than ever, to critique war reason is to defend democracy.