Deterrence is invoked to justify a wide range of domestic and international policies and practices. Punishment is often justified as deterring both repeat offending and offending by others. The UK’s (now-aborted) policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda was largely defended as a means of deterring migrants from crossing the Channel. Recent strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen were intended to deter both attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the expansion of the war in Gaza to other parts of the Middle East. The importance of deterring Russian aggression has underpinned the military support provided to Ukraine by its Western allies.

This workshop will bring together philosophers working on moral, legal, and political dimensions of deterrence to explore underlying theoretical issues that can help us assess the plausibility and legitimacy of deterrent justifications:

Kimberly Ferzan (University of Pennsylvania): Thinking through Threats
Patrick Tomlin (Warwick University): To Infinity and Beyond?: On the Logic and Limits of Deterrence
Helen Frowe (Stockholm University): The Ethics of Collective Defence Agreement“
Bashshar Haydar (American University of Beirut) and Lars Christie (University of Inland Norway): Deterrence and Proportionality in Defensive Wars
Anna Dvorishchina (LSE) and Trenton Sewell (University of Surrey): Punishment, General Deterrence, and Overdetermination
Jeremy Davis (University of Georgia): Intervening Agency, Deterrence, and Proportionality
Jimmy Goodrich (UW-Madison) and Joe Bowen (University of Leeds): Innocence Regained: On the Basis of Moral Liability to General Deterrence
Lee-Ann Chae (Temple University ): When Deterrence Becomes Provocation

The event is free and open to all. To register for the event, please contact Jonas Haeg ([email protected]) no later than March 10th 20206 with your name, affiliation, and any dietary requirements.

https://stockholmcentre.org/event/workshop-on-deterrence-and-deontology/