Dominant powers codified their own practical invulnerability as the overriding war norm
Evidence
On the naked body of a giant discovered in a crevice in the ground, Gyges, a Lydian shepherd, by chance found a gold ring that made him invisible. Confident in his new power and sure that he would escape the watchful eyes of men, he multiplied his misdeeds, killed the king, and seized the throne with impunity. His enemies could neither avoid his attacks nor defend themselves against him. Invisibility conferred upon him a kind of invulnerability. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 342 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: What is new about imperial violence is its quasi-invulnerability being set as a norm; A sui generis principle of imperial-combatant immunity emerged above the law of armed conflict; Drone warfare establishes a norm neither war nor peace via imperial immunity (+14 more)
Related
- Invisibility from retaliation confers power to act with impunity. (similarity 0.87)
- A sui generis principle of imperial-combatant immunity emerged above the law of armed conflict (similarity 0.83)
- Uncredible power invites dangerous testing that triggers force (similarity 0.83)
- Combat against an invulnerable enemy becomes an inquiry into his body’s flaw (similarity 0.80)
- Drone warfare creates a new configuration that is neither war nor peace (similarity 0.79)
- Combatant immunity emerged as a de facto norm alien to just war law (similarity 0.79)
- War’s protection reversal exposes domination as the hidden core of sovereignty. (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Power cannot self-realize but depends on societal-structural conditions for legitimacy
#expands(0.75) - Drone warfare establishes a norm neither war nor peace via imperial immunity
#expands(0.70) - Invisibility from retaliation confers power to act with impunity.
#corroborates(0.65) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 342 - Remote weapons make war unilateral with deaths confined to the enemy side
#expands(0.60) - Combatant immunity emerged as a de facto norm alien to just war law
#corroborates(0.60)