The Least of All Possible Evils: Humanitarian Violence from Arendt to GazaGroundbreaking exploration of the philosophy underpinning Western humanitarian intervention The principle of the “lesser evil”—the acceptability of pursuing one exceptional course of action in order to prevent a greater injustice—has long been a cornerstone of Western ethical philosophy. From its roots in classical ethics and Christian theology, to Hannah Arendt’s exploration of the work of the Jewish Councils during the Nazi regime, Weizman explores its development in three key transformations of the problem: the defining intervention of Médecins Sans Frontières in mid-1980s Ethiopia; the separation wall in Israel-Palestine; and international and human rights law in Bosnia, Gaza and Iraq. Drawing on a wealth of new research, Weizman charts the latest manifestation of this age-old idea. In doing so he shows how military and political intervention acquired a new “humanitarian” acceptability and legality in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. |
Other editions - View all
The Least of All Possible Evils: A Short History of Humanitarian Violence Eyal Weizman Limited preview - 2012 |
The Least of All Possible Evils: A Short History of Humanitarian Violence Eyal Weizman No preview available - 2017 |
The Least of All Possible Evils: A Short History of Humanitarian Violence Eyal Weizman No preview available - 2017 |
Common terms and phrases
Adi Ophir archive Arendt attack Beit Sourik Bernard-Henri Lévy Bob Geldof bombing book of destruction Brauman in interview bulldozing calculations civilian casualties civilian deaths conflict context crimes Dahla damage Date of destruction Date of inspection destroyed buildings District/municipality ethical Ethiopia evidence experts Eyal Weizman famine fetishism Floor area forces forensic anthropology forensic architecture Garlasco Gaza Strip genocide Goldstone report Hannah Arendt High Court human rights groups Human Rights Watch ICRC international humanitarian law international law investigation Iraq Israel Israeli Israeli military Jerusalem jus in bello killed lawfare lesser evil Marc Garlasco material Method of destruction Michal Givoni Michel military lawyers number of civilian Number of units objects Palestinian Photograph political potential practice Rony Brauman route rubble ruins September 2009 structures targeted technologies testimony Thomas Keenan threshold tion Type of building violations violence wall war crimes witness المبنى رقم