Category Archives: Amanda Alexander

The Hero System of Human Rights Scholar Amanda Alexander

Ernest Becker (1924-1974), in The Denial of Death, holds that man is the animal who knows he will die and cannot live with the knowledge. Every culture hands him a hero system, a scheme that lets him earn the feeling … Continue reading

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Amanda Alexander: The Civilian, Total War, and the Making of Humanitarian Law

Amanda Alexander (b. 1976) is an Australian legal scholar whose work examines the historical construction of international humanitarian law, the shifting meaning of civilian status, and the cultural foundations of legal consciousness. She works across international humanitarian law, legal history, … Continue reading

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The Jurisdictional Wars: Alliance Theory and the Battle for Power in the History and Practice of International Humanitarian Law

Nobody in international humanitarian law says they want power over the definition of legitimate violence. They say they protect the vulnerable, humanize war, or fill gaps in the law. That is the move. Interpretive authority is a status claim wrapped … Continue reading

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