ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses civil war in the 'classic' sense of a state fighting a non-state actor that is under the political rule of that state either over control of that state or over secession or other political separation from that state. It then focuses on some ethical issues that arise in civil wars, which relate to distinguishing between who is and is not a combatant and to the morality of insurgency tactics. The 2011 civil war in Libya is generally understood to be part of the broader, region-wide eruption of popular protests across the Middle East and North Africa known as the 'Arab Spring'. The result was that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) effectively used air power to avert atrocities against civilians, but in doing so assisted the rebels in toppling the Gadhafi regime, making it a de facto intervention in support of the rebels.
