Evil, Law and the State: Perspectives on State Power and Violence

EVIL, LAW AND THE STATE: PERSPECTIVES ON STATE POWER AND VIOLENCE, John T. Parry, ed., Rodopi Press, 2006

12 Pages Posted: 20 Feb 2006

Abstract

The topic of evil means different things depending upon context. For some, it is an archaic term, while others view it as a central problem of ethics, psychology, or politics. Coupled with state power, the problem of evil takes on a special salience for most observers. When governments do evil - in whatever way we define the term - the scale of harm increases, sometimes exponentially. The evils of state violence, then, demand our attention and concern. Yet the linkage of evil with state power does not resolve the underlying question of how to understand the concepts that we invoke when we use the term. Instead, the question becomes what evil means in the context of and in relation to state power.

One approach to this question is to invoke the law. Governments, one might argue, can be constrained in their use of violence by law. When these constraints seem to work, we often describe the result as the rule of law. But the rule of law is not an abstract, apolitical, and neutral thing. It results from a complex interaction of forces, so that rule of law ideals and claims that the rule of law actually exists can take a variety of forms. Indeed, under some approaches, one can assert with confidence that repressive regimes are consistent with the rule of law precisely because their policies follow legal forms. Law, then, does not solve the problems of state violence and evil; it merely provides another arena for inquiry, and another set of questions.

The fifteen essays in this book share a concern for these issues. Drawn from a broad array of papers presented at a conference on "Evil, Law, and the State," held at Mansfield College, Oxford in July 2004, they bring multiple perspectives to bear on the problems of state-sponsored evil and violence, and on the ways in which law enables or responds to them. The approaches and conclusions articulated by the various contributors sometimes complement and sometimes stand in tension with each other, but as a whole they contribute to our ongoing effort to understand the characteristics and workings of state power, and our need to grapple with the harm it causes.

The table of contents, introduction (which describes each contribution), and notes on contributors are available for download.

Keywords: constitutional law, criminal law, jurisprudence, law and humanities

JEL Classification: K10, K14, K33, K42

Suggested Citation

Parry, John T., Evil, Law and the State: Perspectives on State Power and Violence. EVIL, LAW AND THE STATE: PERSPECTIVES ON STATE POWER AND VIOLENCE, John T. Parry, ed., Rodopi Press, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=882201

John T. Parry (Contact Author)

Lewis & Clark Law School ( email )

10015 S.W. Terwilliger Blvd.
Portland, OR 97219
United States
503-768-6888 (Phone)
503-768-6671 (Fax)

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