Democracies at War against Terrorism: A Comparative Perspective (Sciences Po Series in International Relations and Political Economy)

278 Pages·2008·1.77 MB·English

by  Samy Cohen

Democracies at War against Terrorism
99778800223300660044556688ttss0011..iinndddd ii 66//1100//22000088 66::5566::3355 PPMM
The Sciences Po Series in International
Relations and Political Economy
Series Editor, Christophe Jaffrelot
This series consists of works emanating from the foremost French researchers from
Sciences Po, Paris. Sciences Po was founded in 1872 and is today one of the most
prestigious universities for teaching and research in social sciences in France, recog-
nized worldwide.
This series focuses on the transformations of the international arena, in a world
where the state, though its sovereignty is questioned, reinvents itself. The series
explores the effects on international relations and the world economy of regionaliza-
tion, globalization (not only of trade and finance but also of culture), and transna-
tional flows at large. This evolution in world affairs sustains a variety of networks
from the ideological to the criminal or terrorist. Besides the geopolitical transforma-
tions of the globalized planet, the new political economy of the world has a decided
impact on its destiny as well, and this series hopes to uncover what that is.
Published by Palgrave Macmillan:
Politics In China: Moving Frontiers
edited by Françoise Mengin and Jean-Louis Rocca
Tropical Forests, International Jungle: The Underside of Global Ecopolitics
by Marie-Claude Smouts, translated by Cynthia Schoch
The Political Economy of Emerging Markets: Actors, Institutions and Financial Crises
in Latin America
by Javier Santiso
Cyber China: Reshaping National Identities in the Age of Information
edited by Françoise Mengin
With Us or Against Us: Studies in Global Anti-Americanism
edited by Denis Lacorne and Tony Judt
Vietnam’s New Order: International Perspectives on the State and Reform in Vietnam
edited by Stéphanie Balme and Mark Sidel
Equality and Transparency: A Strategic Perspective on Affirmative Action in American Law
by Daniel Sabbagh, translation by Cynthia Schoch and John Atherton
Moralizing International Relations: Called to Account
by Ariel Colonomos, translated by Chris Turner
Norms over Force: The Enigma of European Power
by Zaki Laidi, translated from the French by Cynthia Schoch
Democracies at War against Terrorism: A Comparative Perspective
edited by Samy Cohen, translated by John Atherton, Roger Leverdier, Leslie
Piquemal, and Cynthia Schoch
99778800223300660044556688ttss0011..iinndddd iiii 66//1100//22000088 66::5566::3355 PPMM
Democracies at War
against Terrorism
A Comparative Perspective
Edited by
Samy Cohen
Translated by
John Atherton, Roger Leverdier,
Leslie Piquemal, and Cynthia Schoch
99778800223300660044556688ttss0011..iinndddd iiiiii 66//1100//22000088 66::5566::3355 PPMM
DEMOCRACIES AT WAR AGAINST TERRORISM
Copyright © Samy Cohen, 2008.
All rights reserved.
First published in 2008 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the US—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN-13: 978–0–230–60456–8
ISBN-10: 0–230–60456–0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Democracies at war against terrorism : a comparative perspective / edited
by Samy Cohen; translated by John Atherton . . . [et al.].
p. cm.—(Sciences Po series in international relations and political
economy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–230–60456–0
1. Terrorism—Prevention—Moral and ethical aspects—Case
studies. 2. Counterinsurgency—Moral and ethical aspects—Case studies.
3. Asymmetric warfare—Moral and ethical aspects—Case studies.
4. Humanitarian law—Case studies. I. Cohen, Samy.
HV6431.D455 2008
1729.42—dc22 2008004027
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: September 2008
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
99778800223300660044556688ttss0011..iinndddd iivv 66//1100//22000088 66::5566::3366 PPMM
C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Dilemmas in the War against Terrorism 1
Samy Cohen
Part 1 The Historical and the Legal Perspectives
One Democracies and the Ethics of War:
The Record of the Past 15
François Cochet
Two The International Laws of War and the
Fight against Terrorism 41
Emmanuel Decaux
Three T he French State Faced with the Algerian
Nationalists (1954–1962): A War against Terrorism? 59
Raphaëlle Branche
Four Agents and Ambushes: Britain’s “Dirty War”
in Northern Ireland 77
Martyn Frampton
Part 2 The Struggle of Democracies
against Terrorism
Five D emocracy and Norms of War: Locating Moral
Responsibility for Atrocity in Iraq 103
Neta C. Crawford
Six The British Way of Warfare and the Global War on Terror 129
Alastair Finlan
99778800223300660044556688ttss0011..iinndddd vv 66//1100//22000088 66::5566::3366 PPMM
vi Contents
Seven Between Humanitarian Logic and Operational Effectiveness:
How the Israeli Army Faced the Second Intifada 147
Samy Cohen
Eight T he Armed Forces, Power, and Society: 18 Years of
Counterinsurgency in Indian Kashmir 173
Frédéric Grare
Nine T he Army of the Fifth Republic and the Ethics of War in
Contemporary Conflicts 191
Bastien Irondelle
Part 3 Nondemocratic Regimes and the
Fight against Terrorism
Ten R ussia’s War in Chechnya: The Discourse of
Counterterrorism and the Legitimation of Violence 211
Anne Le Huérou and Amandine Regamey
Eleven A lgeria: Is an Authoritarian Regime More
Effective in Combating Terrorist Movements? 233
Luis Martinez
Conclusion 251
Samy Cohen
Notes on Contributors 257
Index 263
99778800223300660044556688ttss0011..iinndddd vvii 66//1100//22000088 66::5566::3366 PPMM
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
This volume is the outcome of a workshop on “The Ethics of War and
Fight against Terrorism: Democracies Put to the Test” that took place
at CERI (Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Internationales, Sciences
Po Paris), on October 2006, with the support of the quarterly journal
Critique Internationale. This workshop brought together scholars from the
United States, Great Britain, and France, allowing for a real compara-
tive work on this issue. The editor is grateful to Christophe Jaffrelot,
Director of the journal and of CERI, for his help. He is very pleased
that this volume takes its place among the other books of Sciences
Po series at Palgrave Macmillan. Many thanks to Toby Wahl, senior
editor at Palgrave for the trust he put in us by accepting to publish this
book. The editor extends his warm thanks to John Atherton, Roger
Leverdier, Leslie Piquemal, and Cynthia Schoch for having translated
these chapters in time, and finally to Miriam Perier for her patient and
careful editing of the entire manuscript.
99778800223300660044556688ttss0011..iinndddd vviiii 66//1100//22000088 66::5566::3366 PPMM
This page intentionally left blank
Introduction: Dilemmas in the
War against Terrorism
Samy Cohen
For several years now, democratic countries have been militarily
engaged against armed groups that they define as terrorist. This is
particularly true of the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France,
the Netherlands, and Italy, present since September 11, 2001 in either
Afghanistan or Iraq or both these theaters of operations abroad. It is also
the case for Israel and India. Israel, confronted since the second Intifada
with acts of terrorism that have caused some 1,000 civilian victims, is
combating Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
India, victim of terrorist attacks since the early 1990s, is conducting
battle against armed militias in Indian Kashmir and Islamist groups
based in Pakistan.
This book deals with the difficulty democracies face in conduct-
ing this type of warfare in highly populated areas without violating
international humanitarian law. On numerous occasions, democratic
nations have been singled out by human rights NGOs for the brutality
of their modus operandi, for their inadequate attention to the protec-
tion of civilian populations, or for acts of abuse or torture on prisoners.
Why do they perpetrate these violations? Do they do so intentionally
or unintentionally? Can democracies combat irregular armed groups
without violating international law? When their population is under
threat, do they behave as nondemocracies would? Does this type of
war “inevitably produce war crimes,” as Stanley Hoffmann claims?
Hoffmann maintains that democracies only have the choice “between
abstaining from war altogether or committing war crimes on a more
or less massive scale.”1 In full agreement, Robert Jay Lifton also claims
99778800223300660044556688ttss0022..iinndddd 11 66//99//22000088 33::3311::4488 PPMM