Terrorism and Justice: Moral Argument in a Threatened World (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780522850499)

Since September 11 and the Bali bombings, terrorism has become an urgent subject for policy-makers everywhere. But they and the public are increasingly uncertain of the adequacy of existing intellectual, moral and legal frameworks for dealing with terrorism.

Terrorism and Justice, now updated, addresses philosophically the moral and political underpinnings of terrorism and anti-terrorism. It brings together authors with different attitudes and original perspectives on ethical and practical justifications for terrorism, and different conceptual frameworks for assessing and justifying responses to terrorism. Some defend the principle that non-combatants ('innocents' or civilians) should be immune from attack; others qualify it; others again argue that traditional distinctions between combatants and non-combatants do not apply in the case of terrorism.

Can terrorism ever be justified? If not, what are the grounds for condemning it? Is your 'terrorist' my 'freedom fighter'? What are the morally appropriate responses to terrorism-diplomatically, militarily and ethically? These are some of the questions this timely book seeks to explore.