Isitlegaltokill,orcaptureandconfine,someoneinwar?Isthisrelevantorwisetoaskintherealityofwar?Whatdoes’legal’actuallymeaninthelabyrinthofoverlappinginternationallaws?Thisvolumeexploresthemeaning,relevance,andwisdomofquestioningthe’legality’oftheuseofforceagainstindividualsinwarbyreconnectinglegalthoughtwiththesocialworld.Weavingtogetherlaw,socialtheories,andactualpractices,thebookpresentsaninterdisciplinarystudyofthelawsregulatingwarfare.TheUseofForceagainstIndividualsinWarunderInternationalLawuncoversdifferentconceptionsof’legality’thatgeneratetensionsamongdifferentinternationallawsregulatingwarfareandhighlightsthelimitsoflegaltechniquesinaddressingthesetensions.Acceptingthesetensionsservesnottodenigratethelawitselfbuttoinviteadeeperlevelofengagementwithit-throughthelensofsocialtheories.Drawingontheinsightthateverysocialactionresultsfromaninteractionbetweenhumanagencyandsocialstructures,thispublicationarguesthatinregulatingwarfare,onedistinctbodyofinternationallaw,thelawofarmedconflicts,accommodatesthediminishedagencyofhumanbeingsoperatinginhighlystructuredconditionswhileotherbodiesofinternationallawharbourthepotentialtotransformtheseverystructuredconditions.Thus,assimilatingtheselaws,whetherincourtorreal-worldpractices,fundamentallyconflatestheirunderlyingsocialontologies.
