The book provides an empirical account of the laws that regulate today’s scenes of armed conflict by looking into the details of one particular military incident and its ex-post legal accounting. Empirically, the book focuses on a highly controversial airstrike in Afghanistan (2009), in which large numbers of civilians were identified as combatants and killed as such. The incident lends itself to reflect upon the relation between the violation of procedural rules and the violation of the international laws of armed conflict. The ethnomethodological Law-in-Action research investigates the practical details of legal accountability and explores how the event shaped and specified the legally required protection of civilians in armed conflict. Exploring the collaborative and systematic work that goes into the ‘application of law’ at the military and the judiciary site, the study develops an empirical respecification of the concept of ‘juridification of warfare’.
The book provides an empirical account of the laws that regulate today’s scenes of armed conflict by looking into the details of one particular military incident and its ex-post legal accounting. Empirically, the book focuses on a highly controversial airstrike in Afghanistan (2009), in which large numbers of civilians were identified as combatants and killed as such. The incident lends itself to reflect upon the relation between the violation of procedural rules and the violation of the international laws of armed conflict. The ethnomethodological Law-in-Action research investigates the practical details of legal accountability and explores how the event shaped and specified the legally required protection of civilians in armed conflict. Exploring the collaborative and systematic work that goes into the ‘application of law’ at the military and the judiciary site, the study develops an empirical respecification of the concept of ‘juridification of warfare’.
This book scrutinises the call-out of the military in the domestic domain in a selection of 13 countries. Nation-states vary in their political-legal structures and all have their own history in the use of military personnel in domestic matters. Three recent events have resulted in increased domestic military deployment and have been experienced in most countries. In the security domain, there is the rise of Islamic State and increasing acts of terrorism, resulting in military involvement in policing. The other two have been increased humanitarian needs: the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread flooding and fires following the changes in climate. These have brought increasing military activity domestically, even in established democracies. This comparative analysis incorporates historical developments and provides a rich multidisciplinary approach from political and social scientists to lawyers and military personnel.
This book scrutinises the call-out of the military in the domestic domain in a selection of 13 countries. Nation-states vary in their political-legal structures and all have their own history in the use of military personnel in domestic matters. Three recent events have resulted in increased domestic military deployment and have been experienced in most countries. In the security domain, there is the rise of Islamic State and increasing acts of terrorism, resulting in military involvement in policing. The other two have been increased humanitarian needs: the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread flooding and fires following the changes in climate. These have brought increasing military activity domestically, even in established democracies. This comparative analysis incorporates historical developments and provides a rich multidisciplinary approach from political and social scientists to lawyers and military personnel.