ABSTRACT
There is a disturbing paradox about violence. We are overwhelmed by talk and images of violence, and there is now a vast literature about the different types, ranging from child abuse, domestic violence, rape, serial murder and suicide bombing, to the use of new sophisticated robotics and drones as weapons for killing. The paradox is that although (or perhaps because) there is so much discussion and literature dealing with different types and aspects of violence, there is enormous confusion about what we mean by violence. I want to limit myself to one crucial dimension of violence—the question of the justification for the use of physical violence in political situations, the killing or inflicting of physical harm on human beings. The issue has recently flared up in public discussion with the release of the White Paper prepared by the Department of Justice that
sets forth a legal framework … in which the U.S. government could use lethal force in a foreign country outside the area of active hostilities against a U.S. citizen who is a senior operational leader of al-Qa’ida or an associated force of al-Qa’ida.1
