What is terrorism, why is it wrong, and could it ever be morally permissible?

Journal of Social Philosophy 36 (2):202–217 (2005)
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Abstract

In the liberal democracies of North America and the European Union, terrorism is almost universally condemned. Moreover, few wish to question the“moral clarity” that denies any “moral equivalence” between terrorists and thosewho fight them (Held 2004, 59–60). However, the seeming consensus on the moral reprehensibility of terrorism is undermined by substantial disagreementabout just what terrorism is. The primary purpose of this paper is to propose an account of terrorism capable of facilitating a more productive moral debate. I conclude by opening—though certainly not closing—the question of when, if ever, terrorism might be morally permissible.

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Alison Jaggar
University of Colorado, Boulder

Citations of this work

Terrorism.Igor Primoratz - 2008 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Jus Ad Bellum after 9/11: A State of the Art Report.Mark Rigstad - 2007 - International Political Theory Beacon.
Terrorism, Supreme Emergency and Killing the Innocent.Anne Schwenkenbecher - 2009 - Perspectives - The Review of International Affairs 17 (1):105-126.

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World Poverty and Human Rights.Thomas Pogge - 2002 - Ethics and International Affairs 19 (1):1-7.
The wretched of the earth.Frantz Fanon - 1998 - In Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze (ed.), African Philosophy: An Anthology. Blackwell. pp. 228--233.

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