Law’s discursive distancing from justice in the colonial present: the case of Israel’s legal practice in the West Bank and Gaza

Maayan Geva

Law’s discursive distancing from justice in the colonial present: the case of Israel’s legal practice in the West Bank and Gaza

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Law plays a fundamental role in the Israeli settler-colonial project. The belief that the state is governed by law, unlike its neighbouring countries, is a prominent feature of the Israeli society’s self-image. The underlying assumption is that law - as a set of rules, institutions and procedures - marks civilisation and is, as such, superior and just. In September 2000, in response to the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the Israeli military legal system advanced the idea that the country was involved in ‘armed conflict short of war’ - a shift to a far more militarised framework. This shift facilitated a discursive separation of law from morality and justice. This paper investigates the role of law in colonial and settler-colonial projects, reflecting on the position of notions of morality in these contexts, and interrogates the discursive change unfolding in Israel as a reflection of a colonial present.

Original language	English
Journal	THEORETICAL CRIMINOLOGY
Publication status	Submitted - 8 Jul 2019

Cite this

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title = "Law{\textquoteright}s discursive distancing from justice in the colonial present: the case of Israel{\textquoteright}s legal practice in the West Bank and Gaza",

abstract = "Law plays a fundamental role in the Israeli settler-colonial project. The belief that the state is governed by law, unlike its neighbouring countries, is a prominent feature of the Israeli society{\textquoteright}s self-image. The underlying assumption is that law - as a set of rules, institutions and procedures - marks civilisation and is, as such, superior and just. In September 2000, in response to the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the Israeli military legal system advanced the idea that the country was involved in {\textquoteleft}armed conflict short of war{\textquoteright} - a shift to a far more militarised framework. This shift facilitated a discursive separation of law from morality and justice. This paper investigates the role of law in colonial and settler-colonial projects, reflecting on the position of notions of morality in these contexts, and interrogates the discursive change unfolding in Israel as a reflection of a colonial present.",

author = "Maayan Geva",

year = "2019",

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language = "English",

journal = "THEORETICAL CRIMINOLOGY",

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AB - Law plays a fundamental role in the Israeli settler-colonial project. The belief that the state is governed by law, unlike its neighbouring countries, is a prominent feature of the Israeli society’s self-image. The underlying assumption is that law - as a set of rules, institutions and procedures - marks civilisation and is, as such, superior and just. In September 2000, in response to the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the Israeli military legal system advanced the idea that the country was involved in ‘armed conflict short of war’ - a shift to a far more militarised framework. This shift facilitated a discursive separation of law from morality and justice. This paper investigates the role of law in colonial and settler-colonial projects, reflecting on the position of notions of morality in these contexts, and interrogates the discursive change unfolding in Israel as a reflection of a colonial present.

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JO - THEORETICAL CRIMINOLOGY

JF - THEORETICAL CRIMINOLOGY

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