The ethics of violence : Recent literature on the creation of the contemporary regime of law and war

Journal article


Alexander, Amanda. (2023). The ethics of violence : Recent literature on the creation of the contemporary regime of law and war. Journal of Genocide Research. 25(2), pp. 235-251. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623528.2021.1985809
AuthorsAlexander, Amanda
Abstract

This paper reviews a body of recent literature that interrogates the development and deployment of the contemporary regime of political violence. This literature includes Samuel Moyn's account of the emergence and dominance of the humanitarian paradigm and Francine Hirsch, Giovanni Mantilla and Boyd van Dijk's diplomatic histories of the creation of the central provisions of this paradigm. It also encompasses Dirk Moses, Benjamin Meiches and Sinja Graf's examinations of genocide and universal crime, Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini's Human Shields, and Yagil Levy's Whose Life is Worth More? This is a diverse literature but, considered together, it traverses the creation of the legal categories, the cultural values and the ethical concerns that shape the current regime. It shows how these laws and values are created through political and cultural negotiations and how they become, themselves, political mechanisms that erase or legitimize certain forms of violence. By doing so, these works reveal the contingency and dangers of the current paradigm of ethical violence. They also, this review argues, show how difficult it is to escape from this paradigm.

Keywordsgenocide; international humanitarian law; humanitarianism; political violence
Year2023
JournalJournal of Genocide Research
Journal citation25 (2), pp. 235-251
PublisherRoutledge
ISSN1469-9494
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/14623528.2021.1985809
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85116667102
Page range235-251
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online08 Oct 2021
Publication process dates
Deposited18 Oct 2023
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