The focus of this study, the legitimization of NATO?s contentious humanitarian war over Kosovo in 1999, deals with one of the most fundamental problems regarding the use of force ? the relation between law and power. More concretely, can illegal humanitarian wars be legitimized, or does a lack of legality doom any chance for legitimation? And why is legitimacy so important for the success of an humanitarian war? This study analyzes how the Atlantic Alliance sought to wage a successful, yet legitimate war against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) without the authorization of the primary...