ABSTRACT
The detention of 'suspected' terrorists without trial and the use of drone strikes by nation states against citizens 'suspected' of engaging in terrorism abroad highlights the ongoing complexities of counterterrorism in terms of ethics and human rights. Focusing largely on the experiences of the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US), the chapter examines a range of methods used by states to counter terrorism and subsequently considers the ethical and human rights dilemmas faced by those charged with countering terrorism. It considers the understanding of ethics, including a discussion of two categories of normative ethical theory: namely consequentialism and deontology. The chapter provides a wider exploration of the concept of human rights before assessing some British and American counterterrorism efforts involving the use of force and the use of law through the lens of ethics and human rights.
