Terrorism and the Right to Resist
A Theory of Just Revolutionary War

A systematic account of the right to resist oppression and of the forms of armed force it can justify.

Christopher J. Finlay (Author)

9781107040939, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 August 2015

354 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.64 kg

'… informed by an extensive knowledge of international law and … richly illustrated with historical and contemporary examples of armed resistance [Finlay's] theory is topical, erudite, and fills a gap in the existing philosophical literature on war. … In sum, Finlay offers a timely contribution to the philosophy of war by significantly advancing the theory of revolutionary war.' Hadassa Noorda, Law and Philosophy

The words 'rebellion' and 'revolution' have gained renewed prominence in the vocabulary of world politics and so has the question of justifiable armed 'resistance'. In this book Christopher J. Finlay extends just war theory to provide a rigorous and systematic account of the right to resist oppression and of the forms of armed force it can justify. He specifies the circumstances in which rebels have the right to claim recognition as legitimate actors in revolutionary wars against domestic tyranny and injustice, and wars of liberation against wrongful foreign occupation and colonialism. Arguing that violence is permissible only in a narrow range of cases, Finlay shows that the rules of engagement vary during and between different conflicts and explores the potential for irregular tactics to become justifiable, such as non-uniformed guerrillas and civilian disguise, the assassination of political leaders and regime officials, and the waging of terrorist war against civilian targets.

1. Introduction
Part I. Theory and Principles: 2. Justice, oppression and the right to resist
3. Rights worth killing for
4. The codes of resistance
5. Rights worth dying for: distributing the costs of resistance
Part II. Wars of Liberation: Fighting within the Standard JIB: 6. Non-state groups and the authority to wage war
7. Guerrilla war, discrimination and the problem of lawful irregulars
Part III. Fighting beyond the Law of War: 8. The partisan jus in bello: resistance beyond the laws of war
9. Terrorist war
10. Back to the start: the ethics of beginning
Conclusions.

Subject Areas: Armed conflict [JPWS], Terrorism, armed struggle [JPWL], International relations [JPS], Political science & theory [JPA], Sociology [JHB], Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ]