The international society in Francisco Suarez

Abstract

This text examines the notion of international society in the thought of Francisco Suarez. Since will is an essential element of his concept of Law, some authors have criticized Suarez in regarding him the precursor of the Voluntarist Positivism in International Law theorists of the nineteenth century. However, this is a mistake. Suarezian International society is more than the mere will of the States, because  it is based on a concept quite transcendental: Charity. Hence, this work attempts to refute a widely spread yet undeserved misconception of  the Hispanic Theologian. This paper has employed the inductive method of approach, and its primary sources were the works of Suarez, and its secondary those of his commentators.