War and Capital Punishment

6th Session: July 28th, 2025

Theme:

In this session, the death penalty will be examined in both global and regional contexts, with a focus on times of armed conflict. We will explore how war increases violations of the right to life and poses a serious challenge to the abolitionist discourse. War will be discussed as a setting in which the state’s use of lethal force is readily justified, expanded, and normalized. The death penalty, in its various forms, is often imposed on vague grounds such as national security, espionage, sedition, or terrorism. During periods of foreign aggression, these justifications become especially convenient for the continued use of capital punishment. The session will shed light on ideas and ways to hold aggressors and human rights violators accountable in such contexts, for protecting human life, particularly in times of war.

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