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- Title
Massacres and Morality: Mass Killing in an Age of Civilian Immunity.
- Authors
Bellamy, Alex J.
- Abstract
The norm of civilian immunity, which holds that civilians must not be intentionally targeted in war or subjected to mass killing, is widely supported and considered a jus cogens principle of international law. Yet not only does mass killing remain a recurrent feature of world politics, but perpetrators sometimes avoid criticism or punishment. This article argues that the paradox can be explained by understanding that civilian immunity confronts a protracted struggle with competing ideologies, some of which have proven resilient, and that decisions about how to interpret the norm in specific cases are subject to intervening contextual variables.
- Subjects
MASSACRES; ETHICS; WAR &; ethics; NONCOMBATANT immunity; PROTECTION of civilians in war; WAR (International law)
- Publication
Human Rights Quarterly, 2012, Vol 34, Issue 4, p927
- ISSN
0275-0392
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1353/hrq.2012.0066