It has often been observed that the Hague Peace Convention of 1907 refl ected the optimism and idealism of its age,
however naïve. Its ideals remain a beacon for our times. Then and now, the Convention was cause for pride regarding
the progress of human civilisation as a whole, and hope for a brighter and more humane future. But a look back at the
Hague Convention, and Japan’s place within it, also provides a lens onto the contradictions and ambiguities of a modern
world founded on the imperialist law of the jungle.
