Politiska mord- en rättfärdig strategi i kriget mot terrorismen?
Just war theoryWar on terrorismAssassinationPolitical and administrative sciencesStatsvetenskapFörvaltningskunskapLaw and Political Science
After the 9/11 attack the United States declared war against terrorism, which launched a conflict between indefinable transnational networks and states. In this war it became clear that the strategies used in traditional wars between states were not sufficient. New strategies have been discussed, but without any concrete results.In this thesis assassinations of terrorist leaders ordered by states is being presented as a possible strategy in the war against terrorism. Assassinations have been used in all times to shift political power but is today not morally accepted. This thesis aims to show that when used under the premisses of the just war theory, the strategy can be equally morally justified as any traditional war. The theory is used as a source for moral and ethical values and provides a framework for under which conditions assassinations can be justified. The purpose is not to argument whether the strategy in fact should be used or not, but simply to show how well it actually fits into the framework we already use today when justifying war. Normative theory is used where different moral and ethical aspects of war and warfare is being discussed in order to show the complexity of today´s conflicts.