Working towards a reinvigorated political theory that recognises the guidance of ethical principles CSMCH member Mathias Thaler conducted a major interdisciplinary research project on 'judging political violence'. The project’s main goal was to work towards a reinvigorated political theory, one that recognizes the guidance of ethical principles without disregarding real politics. This required a pragmatically grounded account of judgment. A set of case studies from a variety of contexts supplemented the theoretical work. The three principal research objectives and questions that underpinned the project were: Interpretive reconstruction. How have the currently dominant normative accounts of genocide, terrorism and torture been arrived at? Normative analysis. is there a need to rethink the currently dominant normative accounts of genocide, terrorism and torture? Reformist critique. In what way can we develop definitions of genocide, terrorism and torture that are less susceptible to abuse and manipulation? The project was funded through a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant within the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union, and it resulted in a wide variety of dissemination activities and publications. More details are available here. This article was published on 2024-06-19
