The War On Terror An Unprecedented Way Of Politics And...

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have represented the end of the warfare system built in the aftermath of the Second World War. On the other hand, the tough US reaction culminated in the creation of a new order shaped by the terrorist threat and characterized by the so-called â€Å"war on terror†: an unprecedented way of doing politics and conducing conflicts. This scenario brought new challenges and perils to the legal framework aimed at regulating the relationships within international actors: international law, international humanitarian law and human rights law. New tendencies on behalf of States jeopardize the international system as a whole. Indeed, in the last years, few States have adopted politics on targeted killings even in the territories of other States. This trend constitutes one of the major issues to be addressed at international level. Such policies have been justified as legitimate response to face the unlawful way of fighting of terrorist groups. However, new technologies – and especially drones – changed the old practice of killing, making it easier for the ones possessing them. The outcome of this situation has been â€Å"the displacement of clear legal standards with a vaguely defined license to kill, and the creation of a major accountability vacuum.† The aim of this paper is to analyze the legality of States new practice of targeted killings, providing it with a legal framework and estimating the impact of such policies in the new warfare system.