Debellatio
The term debellatio or "debellation" (Latin 'defeating, or the act of conquering or subduing', literally, 'warring (the enemy) down', from Latin bellum 'war') describes a situation in which an interstate war ends not with a peace treaty nor a ceasefire, but with the catastrophic state collapse of the losing party as a result of comprehensive military defeat, typically resulting in the disintegration of the institutions capable of issuing an authoritative instrument of surrender. Israeli law professor Eyal Benvenisti defines debellatio as "a situation in which a party to a conflict has been totally defeated in war, its national institutions have disintegrated, and none of its allies continue to challenge the enemy militarily on its behalf." == Examples == === Carthage === In some cases debellation ends with a complete dissolution and annexation of the defeated state into the victor's national territory, as happened at the end of the Third Punic War with the defeat of Carthage by Rome in the 2nd century BC. === Confederate States of America === The American Civil War did not end with the issuance of a formal instrument of surrender by the Confederate States.