Justice and Violence

Justice may sometimes demand the use of violence in order to maintain or achieve its ends, at least in three contexts:

1. The state has a monopoly on violence in order to uphold the (allegedly) just laws and protect its citizens from domestic criminals and illegitimate rebels.
2. Under circumstances of severe rights violations by the government citizens may be justified in using armed resistance in order to overthrow the regime.
3. States may have to resort to violent means to either ward off international aggression or engage in humanitarian interventions.

However, the interconnections between these three contexts have not been sufficiently theorized within current discussions on just war. This two-day conference is supposed to provide an opportunity to connect the different discussions about whether and how violence can serve justice within the varying contexts described above.

Conference Program

Wednesday, May 15

10.30-10.45 Welcome and Introduction

10.45-13.00 Panel I – Violence and the Pursuit of Justice
David Rodin (Oxford): War, Justice and Politics
Virginia Held (New York): Justice, Violence, and the Ethics of Care

13.00-14.30 Lunch Break

14.30-16.45 Panel II – Police Violence and State Punishment
John Kleinig (New York): Legitimate and Illegitimate Uses of Police
Force Victor Tadros (Warwick): The Just Distribution of Punishment and Security

16.45-17.15 Coffee Break

17.15-18.25 Panel III – Contested State Violence
Uwe Steinhoff (Hongkong): On the Ethics of Torture

Thursday, May 16

10.15-12.30 Panel IV – Revolution and Civil War
Mattias Iser (Frankfurt): On the Right of Revolution
Christopher J. Finlay (Birmingham): The Partisan Code and the Law of War: On the Ethics of Asymmetric Conflict

12.30-14.00 Lunch Break

14.00-16.15 Panel V – Humanitarian Intervention and the Costs of War
Reinhard Merkel (Hamburg): Humanitarian Intervention and the Responsibility to Protect - NATO's Intervention in Libya as a Model?
Neta C. Crawford (Boston): “War! What Is It Good For?” Rethinking the Utility of Violence

16.15-16.45 Coffee Break

16.45-19.00 Panel VI – War and Proportionality
Jeff McMahan (Rutgers): Proportionate Defense
Darrel Moellendorf (San Diego): The Proportionality of an Ongoing War

Venue:
"Eisenhower-room", main building, "IG Hochhaus", Campus Westend. Room number 1.314, Goethe University of Frankfurt

Organizer:
Mattias Iser

Attendance of the workshop is free. Registration is required for organization and catering purposes by April 26. Places are limited, and will be assigned on a first  come, first serve basis.

In order to register, please contact Ms Valérie Bignon:
[email protected]

Conference website: