Provocation is not an innocent act. It can amount to a tort or even a crime. In the UK the Public Order Act prohibits "abusive or threatening words or behaviour", specifically "to provoke the immediate use of unlawful violence”. Provocation means conduct that induces another to a violent response – out of fear, anger or outrage. Whereas in international law there is an absolute prohibition of the use of force stipulated in article 2(4) of the UN Charter, some powerful countries concoct exceptions, e.g. by postulating a non-existent right of “pre-emptive” self-defence or the so-called doctrine of “responsibility to protect”, both scams intended to circumvent Art. 2(4). Recent armed conflicts in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Ukraine document a tendency to water down the prohibition of the use of force. This is facilitated by the compliant media and "quality press" that manage facts and narrative in an attempt to “legitimize” the use of force, e.g. by the US in Iraq, or to absolve the provocateur, e.g. by downplaying NATO's egregious provocations in Ukraine and elsewhere. It is surrealistic to claim that the use of force in Iraq was legitimate: It was naked aggression and a crime against humanity. Equally extravagant is to pretend that the invasion of Ukraine was “unprovoked”, although every Western politician does not miss the opportunity to refer to the Ukraine war as "unprovoked". Admittedly, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine constituted a grave breach of the UN Charter. But the provocations also violated article 2(4), which prohibits not only the use of force but also the threat thereof. As Professors John Mearsheimer, Richard Falk, Jeffrey Sachs and others have pointed out, NATO expansion was perceived by Russia as a hostile attempt at encirclement, hence an existential threat. Every attempt by Russia to defuse this menace by peaceful negotiation as required by article 2(3) UN Charter was rebuffed by the US and NATO. NATO's on-going provocations in Georgia, Ukraine and elsewhere amount to geopolitical harassment in contravention of the letter and spirit of the UN Charter. It can be argued that provoking someone is more offensive that reacting aggressively to the provocation, because the provocation is deliberate, not accidental; the reaction thereof is ad hoc, lacking malice aforethought. Provoking means intentionally making someone angry, throwing down the gauntlet, inviting to a fight. Of course, retaliation should be proportional to the provocation. But we humans have this awesome tendency to overreact. Bottom line: Both the provocation and the retaliation are reprehensible. But the one who provokes bears greater moral responsibility. Provocation should be recognized as an attribute of the act of aggression and as such deemed in violation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Your mind is complicit in the provocation.

If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation.

The United States Department [sic] acknowledged that they had not taken Russian security concerns into consideration in any discussions with Russia. The question of NATO, they would not discuss. Well, all of that is provocation. Not a justification, but a provocation. And it's quite interesting that in American discourse, it is almost obligatory to refer to the invasion as the 'unprovoked invasion of Ukraine'. Look it up on Google. You will find hundreds of thousands of hits. Of course, it was provoked. Otherwise, they wouldn't refer to it all the time as an unprovoked invasion.

I’m an agent provocateur.

The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the President and other powerful people.

When anyone provokes you, remember that it is actually your own opinion provoking you. It is not the person who insults or attacks you who torments your mind, but the view you take of these things. Do not be fooled by how things first appear. With time and greater perspective, you can regain inner peace.

Who had used the mysterious September 11 incident as a pretext to attack Afghanistan and Iraq, killing, injuring and displacing millions of people. Whose military spending exceeded $1,000 billion dollars annually — more than the military budgets of all countries in the world combined? Who dominated the policy-making establishments of the world’s economy, as well as the Security Council, which was ostensibly responsible for safeguarding international security? Do these arrogant Powers really have the competence and ability to run or govern the world? “Can the flower of democracy bloom from [<nowiki/>North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s] missiles, bombs and guns?

You put nuclear-capable B-52s in flying distance to China with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, that’s provocation.

The real persuaders are our appetites, our fears and above all our vanity. The skillful propagandist stirs and coaches these internal persuaders.

The ruling family in Kuwait is good at blackmail, exploitation, and destruction of their opponents. They had perpetuated a grave U.S. conspiracy against us.... stabbing Iraq in the back with a poisoned dagger.

The United States is, in many ways, the linchpin of NATO. It’s true, NATO is an alliance of equals, a collective defense alliance, and a political organization. But the United States, by virtue of its size and power, has always been the leader of the alliance.

Remember that it is not he who gives abuse or blows who affronts, but the view we take of these things as insulting. When, therefore, any one provokes you, be assured that it is your own opinion which provokes you. (20).

Humanity has been given an extraordinarily potent tool whereby the energy of the Masters can be invoked at will. It is called the Great Invocation. The Christ Himself used it for the first time in June 1945, when He announced to His Brothers, the Masters of Wisdom, that He was ready to return to the world at the earliest possible moment, as soon as humanity took the first steps towards sharing and co-operation for the general good. It was translated by the Masters and released to the world by the Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul through His amanuensis Alice A. Bailey. The Great Invocation is a very potent prayer. By its use, any group of transmitters can invoke the energies of the Christ and the Masters, and, acting as instruments, allow these energies to pass through their chakras in a simple, pleasant and scientific manner.