Understanding War as Punishment: Punitive Logics Beyond The State

The notion of crime is frequently used to justify military interventions. Thus military operations are reconstructed as a way of stopping crime and human rights violations and international punishment as a state practice. This book analyses the increasing overlap of criminology and international relations and explores the current use of military technology to control crime and human rights violations in the international sphere.

Drawing on the criminology of punishment, international relations theory and international law, this book examines the emergence of a system of international criminal justice and the transformation of international relations through the juridification of war. Focusing on case studies in Kosovo, Iraq, Libya, and Syria, the book offers a theoretical understanding of the relocation of punishment in the international arena.