Between Rules of War and Rule of Law

This book examines the legitimation practices of Presidents Bush and Obama in the transformation of detention norms in the war on terror. The focus is on the conflict between the US use of force and the commitment to protective norms of legitimate force. The central question is how both presidents used legitimation to justify normative changes in detention law, especially indefinite detention. The study analyzes strategic legitimation activities in the security policy discourse in which norms of