Beyond the law’s reach? Powerful criminals, foreign entanglement, and justice in the shadow of violence (Oxford University Press, Nov. 2024)
This book argues that fundamental assumptions in contemporary political philosophy need to be rethought in the face of pervasive political violence. At an applied level, the book develops this broad claim by delving into a series of specific controversies, all revolving around affluent democracies’ policy responses to the threat of pervasive violence abroad. Examples include the ethics of giving refuge to beleaguered autocrats to avert civil war in their country; the ethics of prosecuting foreign officials who have colluded with drug cartels; and the admission of oligarchs who acquired their riches by distorting their country’s rule of law. At a more theoretical level, the book aims to show that the moral principles needed to adjudicate these particular controversies can illuminate broader issues in normative political theory. These range from the philosophy of criminal punishment, through the relationship between the law’s letter and its spirit, to the general plausibility of certain moral theories as public policy guides.
“In this wise and compassionate book, Shmulik Nili, grasping the nettle of our “third best” world, tackles the exploitation of our legal and financial systems by lawless dictators and gangsters. Exploring what he encapsulates as the “shadow of violence,” Nili offers a carefully reasoned and richly informed treatment of an important and general question of practical ethics: What do those who benefit from the rule of law and democracy owe to those who don’t? His treatment of the distorting ripples of large-scale criminal and private violence, which characterizes too many societies around the world, is especially valuable and insightful.”
Aziz Z. Huq, Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg Professor of Law and Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Chicago Law School