Supreme emergencies and the protection of non-combatants in war

Bibliographic Data

ID3671807
AuthorsAlex J Bellamy (0000-0003-2490-4613, The University of Queensland, corresponding author)
Year2004
Volume80
Issue5
Pages829-850
Publication date2004-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-5850 • E-ISSN: 1468-2346
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/j.1468-2346.2004.00421.x
OpenAlexW2038926396
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited13

Is it ever justifiable to target non-combatants deliberately? This article assesses Michael Walzer's claim that the deliberate targeting of non-combatants may be justifiable during ‘supreme emergencies’, a view that has received some support but that has elicited little debate. It argues that the supreme emergencies exception to the prohibition on targeting non-combatants is problematic for at least four reasons. First, its utilitarianism contradicts Walzer's wider ethics of war based on a conception of human rights. Second, the exception may undermine the principle of non-combatant immunity. Third, it is based on a historical fallacy. Finally, it is predicated on a strategic fallacy–the idea that killing noncombatants can win wars. The case for rejecting the exception, however, has been opposed by those who persuasively argue that it is wrong to tie leaders' hands when they confront supreme emergencies. The final part of the article addresses this question and suggests that the principle of proportionality may give political leaders room for manoeuvre in supreme emergencies without permitting them deliberately to target non-combatants

Combatant · Epistemology · Fallacy · Just war theory · Law and economics · Political science · Politics · Proportionality (law) · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Supreme court · Utilitarianism · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Philosophy · War, Ethics, and Justification

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