Debating Targeted Killing: Counter-Terrorism or Extrajudicial Execution? (Debating Ethics)

Politics & Social Sciences

Meisels, Tamar

Waldron, Jeremy

Philosophy

Oxford University Press

Known terrorists are often targeted for death by the governments of Israel and the United States. Several thousand have been killed by drones or by operatives on the ground in the last twenty years. Is this form of killing justified, when hundreds or thousands of lives are possibly at risk at the hands of a known terrorist? Is there anything about it that should disturb us? Ethically-sound and practical answers to these questions are more difficult to come by than it might seem. Renowned political theorists Jeremy Waldron and Tamar Meisels here defend two competing positions on the legitimacy of targeted killing as used in counterterrorism strategy in this riveting and essential for-and-against book. The volume begins with a joint introduction, briefly setting out the terms of discussion, and presenting a short historical overview of the practice: what targeted killing is, and how it has been used in which conflicts and by whom. It then hones in on killings themselves and the element of targeting. The authors tackle difficult and infinitely complex subjects, for example the similarities and differences between targeted killing of terrorists and ordinary killings in combat, and they ask whether targeted killing can be regarded as a law enforcement strategy, or as a hybrid between combat and law enforcement. They compare the practice of targeted killing with assassination and the use of death squads. And they consider the likelihood that targeted killing has been or will be abused against insurgents, criminals, or political opponents. Meisels analyzes the assassination by Israeli operatives of nuclear scientists working for regimes hostile to Israel. Meisels and Waldron carefully consider whether this sort of killing can ever be justified in terms of the danger it, in theory, averts. The conclusions drawn are at once as surprising as they are insightful, cautioning us against a world in which targeted killing is the norm as it proliferates rapidly. This is essential reading not only for students of political and war theory and military personnel, but for anyone interested in or concerned by the future of targeted killing.

What is terrorism and can it ever be defended? Beginning with its definition, proceeding to its possible justifications, and culminating in proposals for contending with and combating it, this book offers a full theoretical analysis of the issue of terrorism. Tamar Meisels argues that, regardless of its professed cause, terrorism is diametrically opposed to the requirements of liberal morality and can only be defended at the expense of relinquishing the most basic of liberal commitments. Meisels opposes those who express sympathy and justification for Islamist (particularly Palestinian) terrorism and terrorism allegedly carried out on behalf of developing nations, but, at the same time, also opposes those who would tolerate any reduction in civil liberties in exchange for greater security. Calling wholeheartedly for a unanimous liberal front against terrorism, this is a strong and provocative attempt to address the tension between liberty and security in a time of terror.

The Trouble with Terror: Liberty, Security and the Response to Terrorism

Politics & Government

Cambridge University Press

Contemporary Just War: Theory and Practice (War, Conflict and Ethics)

This book offers a renewed defense of traditional just war theory and considers its application to certain contemporary cases, particularly in the Middle East. The first part of the book addresses and responds to the central theoretical criticisms levelled at traditional just war theory. It offers a detailed defense of civilian immunity, the moral equality of soldiers and the related dichotomy between jus ad bellum and jus in bello, and argues that these principles taken together amount to a morally coherent ethics of war. In this sense this project is traditional (or "orthodox"). In another sense, however, it is highly relevant to the modern world. While the first part of the book defends the just war tradition against its revisionist critics, the second part applies it to an array of timely issues: civil war, economic warfare, excessive harm to civilians, pre-emptive military strikes, and state-sponsored assassination, which require applying just war theory in practice. This book sets out to reaffirm the basic tenets of the traditional ethics of war and to lend them further moral support, subsequently applying them to a variety of practical issues. This book will be of great interest to students of just war theory, ethics, security studies, war and conflict studies, and IR in general.

Reference

Routledge

Liberal defences of nationalism, prevalent since the mid-1980’s, have largely neglected the fact that nationalism is primarily about land. Territorial Rights examines the generic types of territorial claims customarily put forward by national groups as justification for their territorial demands, within the framework of what has come to be known as ‘liberal nationalism’.   "When it appeared in 2005, Territorial Rights filled a void in liberal nationalist theory. In this second edition, Meisels carries her subtle and systematic thinking on the topic further, in part by deftly and constructively responding to the literature that the first edition spawned."Allen Buchanan, Duke University, USA   "The question of who is entitled to exercise jurisdiction over which land is of fundamental theoretical and practical importance.  It has, however, been neglected by contemporary political philosophers.  In her thoughtful and stimulating work, Territorial Rights, Tamar Meisels provides a much needed analysis of the normative issues involved.  Territorial Rights is a comprehensive, rigorous and illuminating analysis.  It provides both an evaluation of competing philosophical perspectives and a defence of a liberal nationalist perspective on territory.  In doing so it includes instructive discussions of the implications of Locke's political thought for territorial rights, and the continuing relevance of historic injustices.  It would be of interest to anyone interested in questions of territorial rights (and indeed anyone interested in issues of global justice more generally)."Simon Caney, Magdalen College, Oxford, UK "Even the most cursory reading, of the burgeoning literature on global distributive justice and just war, reveals a growing appreciation of the foundational role that territorial rights must play in constructing a coherent theory of what nations owe to one another. Tamar Meisels provides us with a challenging, comprehensive, and highly original analysis of how such rights are constituted and the conditions under which they can be justified. Those, like myself, who have advanced a purely individualistic view of the basis of territorial rights, will have to do some serious grappling with her many powerful arguments if they are successfully to sustain that view."Hillel Steiner FBA, University of Manchester, UK

Territorial Rights (Law and Philosophy Library)

Springer

Territorial Rights (Law and Philosophy Library, 72)

Liberal defences of nationalism have become prevalent since the mid-1980’s. Curiously, they have largely neglected the fact that nationalism is primarily about land. Should liberals throw up their hands in despair when confronting conflicting claims stemming from incommensurable national narratives and holy texts? Should they dismiss conflicting demands that stem solely from particular cultures, religions and mythologies in favour of a supposedly neutral set of guidelines? Does history matter? Should ancient injustices interest us today? Should we care who reached the territory first and who were its prior inhabitants? Should principles of utility play a part in resolving territorial disputes? Was John Locke right to argue that the utilisation of land counts in favour of its acquisition? And should Western style settlement projects work in favour or against a nation’s territorial demands? When and how should principles of equality and equal distribution come into play? Territorial Rights examines the generic types of territorial claims customarily put forward by national groups as justification for their territorial demands, within the framework of what has come to be known as ‘liberal nationalism’. The final outcome is a multifarious theory on the ethics of territorial boundaries that supplies a workable set of guidelines for evaluating territorial disputes from a liberal-national perspective, and offers a common ground for discussion (including disagreement) and for the mediation of claims.

Foreign & International Law

Liberal defences of nationalism have become prevalent since the mid-1980’s. Curiously, they have largely neglected the fact that nationalism is primarily about land. Should liberals throw up their hands in despair when confronting conflicting claims stemming from incommensurable national narratives and holy texts? Should they dismiss conflicting demands that stem solely from particular cultures, religions and mythologies in favour of a supposedly neutral set of guidelines? Does history matter? Should ancient injustices interest us today? Should we care who reached the territory first and who were its prior inhabitants? Should principles of utility play a part in resolving territorial disputes? Was John Locke right to argue that the utilisation of land counts in favour of its acquisition? And should Western style settlement projects work in favour or against a nation’s territorial demands? When and how should principles of equality and equal distribution come into play? Territorial Rights examines the generic types of territorial claims customarily put forward by national groups as justification for their territorial demands, within the framework of what has come to be known as ‘liberal nationalism’. The final outcome is a multifarious theory on the ethics of territorial boundaries that supplies a workable set of guidelines for evaluating territorial disputes from a liberal-national perspective, and offers a common ground for discussion (including disagreement) and for the mediation of claims.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Meisels, Tamar. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Meisels, Tamar

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Meisels, Tamar. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Debating Targeted Killing: Counter-Terrorism or Extrajudicial Execution? (Debating Ethics)

Debating Targeted Killing: Counter-Terrorism or Extrajudicial Execution? (Debating Ethics)

The Trouble with Terror: Liberty, Security and the Response to Terrorism

The Trouble with Terror: Liberty, Security and the Response to Terrorism

Contemporary Just War: Theory and Practice (War, Conflict and Ethics)

Contemporary Just War: Theory and Practice (War, Conflict and Ethics)

Territorial Rights (Law and Philosophy Library)

Territorial Rights (Law and Philosophy Library, 72)

Territorial Rights (Law and Philosophy Library, 72)