Extrajudicial Killing as Risk Management

This article analyses legal aspects of the 'war on terror'. It argues that, by making recourse to a semantic of risk, danger and, in particular, precaution, the 'war on terror' blurs crucial political and legal categories of public and private, of peace and war, of combatants and civilians, thus redefining the relationship between political responsibility, time and security. As a consequence, the extrajudicial killing of individuals becomes a form of risk management that takes place beyond established mechanisms of accountability. © Sage Publications, Inc. 2008

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