Achieving compliance in the use of force: the production and maintenance of an imminent threat in an aerial targeting operation

Abstract

This article provides a socio-legal analysis of the ways in which military personnel orient to the laws of war as they seek to produce and maintain lawful targets for the use of force. In order to further empiricize debates surrounding the United States’ (US) controversial interpretations of core concepts in the laws of war, the article takes up the concept of ‘imminence’ – which is fundamental to the doctrine of anticipatory self-defence – and details its consequential role within a civilian casualty incident that occurred in Afghanistan in 2010. By analysing the talk of personnel involved in that operation, the article details the ways in which a drone crew and Special Forces team constructed the ‘here-and-now’ meaning and relevance of imminence in order to ensure the lawfulness of the strike. In doing so, the article demonstrates that the US’ contemporary orientations to the laws of war expand the scope for lawful violence.