Law's Wars
The Fate of the Rule of Law in the US 'War on Terror'

Law's Wars is the first comprehensive account of efforts to resist and correct rule of law violations in the US 'war on terror'.

Richard L. Abel (Author)

9781108454650, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 August 2019

938 pages, 2 tables
23 x 12 x 6 cm, 1.15 kg

'Of all the books on the US war on terror and the law, this is the indispensable one. From detention and torture to surveillance and civilian casualties, Richard L. Abel puts all the pieces together. His research is encyclopedic, his story-telling taut, his analysis superb.' David Luban, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, and author of Torture, Power, and Law

The US 'war on terror', which Bush declared and Obama continued, repeatedly violated fundamental rule of law values. Law's Wars: The Fate of the Rule of Law in the US 'War on Terror' is the first comprehensive account of efforts to resist and correct those violations. It focuses on responses to abuses in Abu Ghraib, efforts by Guantánamo Bay detainees to improve conditions of confinement in and win release, exposés of and efforts to end torture and electronic surveillance, and civilian casualties on the battlefield, including targeted killings. Abel deploys a law and society perspective to construct and analyze detailed narratives of the roles of victims, whistle-blowers, the media, NGOs, lawyers, doctors, politicians, military personnel, foreign governments and international organizations in defending the rule of law. Only by understanding past errors can we hope to prevent their repetition in what promises to be an endless 'war on terror'.

1. Defending the rule of law
2. Abu Ghraib
3. Guantánamo Bay
4. Interrogation
5. Electronic surveillance
6. Ius in Bello
7. The resilience of the rule of law.

Subject Areas: International human rights law [LBBR], Law & society [LAQ], Warfare & defence [JW], Terrorism, armed struggle [JPWL], Central government policies [JPQB]