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Book Details

Terrorism and Justice

Moral Argument in a Threatened World

Tony Coady and Michael O’Keefe (eds)

Terrorism and Justice is the first book since September 11 to address philosophically the moral and political underpinnings of terrorism and anti-terrorism.

Opinion

‘An excellent collection.’ (The Age, 7 September 2002)

‘Intelluctually confronting.’ (Campus Review, September 18-24 2002)

About this Title

The terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001 profoundly shocked the international community. Policy-makers are increasingly aware of the inadequacy of existing intellectual, moral and legal frameworks for dealing with such events.

Terrorism and Justice is the first book since September 11 to address philosophically the moral and political underpinnings of terrorism and anti-terrorism. It brings together authors with different attitudes and original perspectives on the ethical and practical justifications offered 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.

Table of Contents

Contributors
Acknowledgements
Preface

1 Toward a Definition of Terrorism—Ninian Stephen
2 Terrorism, Just War and Supreme Emergency—C. A. J. (Tony) Coady
3 Political Terrorism as a Weapon of the Politically Powerless—Robert Young
4 State Terrorism—Igor Primoratz
5 Osama bin Laden, Terrorism and Collective Responsibility—Seumas Miller
6 Towards Liberation: Terrorism from a Liberation Ideology Perspective—Aleksandar Pavkovic
7 Jihad and Violence: Changing Understandings of Jihad Among Muslims—Abdullah Saeed
8 Terrorism and the Right to Wage War—Janna Thompson
9 Responding Justly to International Terrorism—Michael O’Keefe
10 A ‘War of Good Against Evil’—Raimond Gaita

Notes
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Professor C. A. J. (Tony) Coady is ARC Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy at the University of Melbourne and Head of the ARC Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics established by the Australian Research Council. Michael O’Keefe is a Research Fellow at the ARC Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics.

Other contributors are: Sir Ninian Stephen, former Governor-General; Associate Professor Robert Young, Department of Philosophy, La Trobe University; Associate Professor Igor Primoratz and Professor Seumas Miller, ARC Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics; Associate Professor Aleksandar Pavkovic, Department of Politics, Macquarie University; Associate Professor Abdullah Saeed, Arabic and Islamic Studies, Melbourne Institute of Asian Languages and Societies, University of Melbourne; Associate Professor Janna Thompson, ARC Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics and Department of Philosophy, La Trobe University; Professor Raimond Gaita, Australian Catholic University and King’s College, London.

Book Preview

978-0-522-85049-9