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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   28223 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 23, 2023

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I am not sure what "correct" means in this context. If the violence is legitimate -- eg, it is in self-defense, it is proportionate, etc, I am not sure that level of organization matters. Though the just war requirement of proper authority is problematic for substate actors.

BTW, I see that I forgot one point re your last comment:

The level of feeling that produces group violence is an important milestone, but there are perverse incentives to recognizing it as the dividing line between legitimate and illegitimate violence.

You are conflating two different things. Whether a group constitutes a nation does not determine whether their use of violence is legitimate or illegitimate. That is a separate question.

You're still wrapped around the axle about the word "nation", which I did not use. We've established that there are no universal definitions for what is or is not a "nation", so that's probably not the way to go if we want to be able to judge the violent actions of various groups. The question remains, what does?

You might not have used the explicit term, but it was the concept you asked about in your initial post, when you asked, "Exactly what are the features of a group with the right to claim territory and "self-determination"? Is it races? Ethnic groups? Language groups?" As I said, I personally do not believe in the right to self-determination. But I have been describing the views of those who do, and those who do, believe it is a right that belongs to "nations" (or, sometimes, "peoples", which is the same thing).

so that's probably not the way to go if we want to be able to judge the violent actions of various groups. The question remains, what does?

I just answered that question, which, as I said, is a different question than your initial question about the right to self-determination.

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