Overview
- Summary
- The principle of the lesser evil--the acceptability of pursuing one exceptional course of action in order to prevent a greater injustice--has long been a cornerstone of Western ethical philosophy. From its roots in classical ethics and Christian theology, to Hannah Arendt's exploration of the work of the Jewish Councils during the Nazi regime, the author explores its development in three key transformations of the problem: the defining intervention of Medecins Sans Frontisres in mid-1980s in Ethiopia; the separation wall in Israel-Palestine; and international and human rights law in Bosnia, Gaza and Iraq. Drawing on a wealth of new research, the author charts the latest manifestation of this age-old idea. In doing so he shows how military and political intervention acquired a new humanitarian acceptability and legality in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.--Publisher description.
- Variant Title
- Humanitarian violence from Arendt to Gaza
- Format
- Book
- Published
- London ; New York : Verso, 2011
- Contents
-
The humanitarian present
Arendt in Ethiopia
The best of all possible walls
Forensic architecture : only the criminal can solve the crime
Epilogue : the destruction of destruction. - Notes
-
Includes bibliographical references and index.
The humanitarian present -- Arendt in Ethiopia -- The best of all possible walls -- Forensic architecture : only the criminal can solve the crime -- Epilogue : the destruction of destruction.
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9781844676477
1844676471 - Physical Description
- viii, 196 pages : color illustrations ; 22 cm
Keywords & Subjects
- Record last modified:
- 2024-06-21 19:57:00
- This page:
- http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/bib236669
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