Taking Lives (Fifth Edition): Genocide and State Power Book

This is the second time I am attempting to submit this review, due to the stupid application failing to save the previous effort, so I shall shorten it.

Gross's book is competent and serves as a good springboard for anyone interested in these controversial areas of armed conflict. As might be expected, the fine line between what is acceptable and what is not, when it comes to this sort of martial misbehavior is unclear. What was torture yesterday, becomes enhanced interrogation with the wave of a political wand. It is difficult to distinguish for instance, where to draw the line between targeted killing and assassination.

Gross does not merely cover these topics but expands into other important areas in his work such as the question of civilian casualties and the doctrine of double effect (DDE, see p. 187). He insightfully examines the phenomenon of terrorism and how that has altered the military landscape. He covers just war principles in passing such as the principle of last resort. Above all and perhaps most importantly, Gross looks at the phenomenon of asymmetric warfare and what this means in the 21st century.