The concept of military occupation in the era of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Peter M.R. Stirk
Comparative Legal History, Volume 3, 2015 - Issue 1, Pages 60-84

Abstract

This article accounts for the existence of a clear concept of military occupation, albeit inconsistently used, in the era of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. It sets out the factors favouring such clarity and those militating against it. It argues that accounts of the concept of military occupation in terms of the principle of national self-determination and the French revolutionary renunciation of the right to conquest are insufficient. A full explanation must refer to the practice of occupation by French revolutionary and Napoleonic authorities and their allied opponents, including non-belligerent occupations. It concludes that the law of occupation and court judgements in this period should not be treated as driven by general principles but rather as often-confused responses to specific contexts and problems created by generals, diplomats and recalcitrant inhabitants of occupied territories.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2049677X.2015.1041726