Hvis en eller flere stater tiltager sig magtens forrang og anvender den på egen hånd, så er der helt entydigt tale om den stærkes ret. Den stærkes ret har en egenskab.
If one or more states arrogate to themselves the pre-eminent right to use force and take the law into their own hands, that amounts to unmitigated private warfare, the so-called law of the strong, one of the characteristics of which is that it breeds more private warfare.