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Targeted by Persuasion: Military Uniform and the Legal Matter of Killing in War

Parsa, Amin LU and Keshavarz, Mahmoud (2019) In Law Text Culture 23. p.223-239
Abstract
In this paper, we argue that the legitimation of killing in war is not simply formed by adherence to certain legal requirements that exist apart from and prior to war; instead, we suggest, the law of armed conflict in itself cannot but operate through admitting certain materials onto the battlefield as distinctively legal materials. Using the theory of legal materiality, we show that the military uniform is a legal material that makes the legal matter of legitimate targeting intelligible to law. This process happens through the ways in which the uniform shapes the possibility of visual recognition and differentiation in order to make certain bodies targetable and others not targetable. We refer to this visual recognition and... (More)
In this paper, we argue that the legitimation of killing in war is not simply formed by adherence to certain legal requirements that exist apart from and prior to war; instead, we suggest, the law of armed conflict in itself cannot but operate through admitting certain materials onto the battlefield as distinctively legal materials. Using the theory of legal materiality, we show that the military uniform is a legal material that makes the legal matter of legitimate targeting intelligible to law. This process happens through the ways in which the uniform shapes the possibility of visual recognition and differentiation in order to make certain bodies targetable and others not targetable. We refer to this visual recognition and differentiation as a domain of persuasion. We show that the historical, functional and visual attributes of the uniform, as a design artefact, produce a convincing domain of distinction for the attacking agent. Finally, we turn to insurgency, arguing that the legal matter of targeting is shaped not only by the presence, use and manipulation of this legal material but also by the absence of it. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Law Text Culture
volume
23
pages
223 - 239
publisher
Legal Intersections Research Centre
ISSN
1322-9060
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ba1771a3-8c6b-46ee-ad03-fa655ac716b4
date added to LUP
2020-04-01 11:41:42
date last changed
2020-05-04 14:13:54
@article{ba1771a3-8c6b-46ee-ad03-fa655ac716b4,
  abstract     = {{In this paper, we argue that the legitimation of killing in war is not simply formed by adherence to certain legal requirements that exist apart from and prior to war; instead, we suggest, the law of armed conflict in itself cannot but operate through admitting certain materials onto the battlefield as distinctively legal materials. Using the theory of legal materiality, we show that the military uniform is a legal material that makes the legal matter of legitimate targeting intelligible to law. This process happens through the ways in which the uniform shapes the possibility of visual recognition and differentiation in order to make certain bodies targetable and others not targetable. We refer to this visual recognition and differentiation as a domain of persuasion. We show that the historical, functional and visual attributes of the uniform, as a design artefact, produce a convincing domain of distinction for the attacking agent. Finally, we turn to insurgency, arguing that the legal matter of targeting is shaped not only by the presence, use and manipulation of this legal material but also by the absence of it.}},
  author       = {{Parsa, Amin and Keshavarz, Mahmoud}},
  issn         = {{1322-9060}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{223--239}},
  publisher    = {{Legal Intersections Research Centre}},
  series       = {{Law Text Culture}},
  title        = {{Targeted by Persuasion: Military Uniform and the Legal Matter of Killing in War}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/77925934/Targeted_by_Persuasion_Military_Uniforms_and_the_Legal_Matter_of.pdf}},
  volume       = {{23}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}