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Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2025

Thomas Gift
Thomas Gift
Affiliation:
University College London

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Type
Chapter
Information
Killing Machines
Trump, the Law of War, and the Future of Military Impunity
 , pp. v - vi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NC
This content is Open Access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence CC-BY-NC 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/cclicenses/

Contents

  1. List of Figures

  2. List of Tables

  3. Acknowledgments

  4. 1The Impunity Presidency

    1. 1.1Why It Matters for Research

    2. 1.2Why It Matters for Policy and Governance

    3. 1.3But Is Trump a “War Criminal”?

    4. 1.4A Challenge to the IHL Consensus

    5. 1.5Case Selection: Trump

    6. 1.6Preview of the Argument

  5. 2Means

    1. 2.1War Crime Clemencies

      1. Fox News

      2. GOP Allies on Capitol Hill

    2. 2.2Additional Examples of IT Synchronization

  6. 3Motive

    1. 3.1“Law and Order” and Moral Foundations

      1. In-group Loyalty

      2. Authority

      3. Purity

    2. 3.2Survey of Attitudes toward War Crimes

      1. Support for Exonerating Crimes

      2. Support for Challenges to IHL

      3. Impunity Coalition Activation

  7. 4Opportunity

    1. 4.1Norm Socialization and Ideological Subcultures

    2. 4.2The Impunity Coalition’s Influence over the Military

      1. Trump

      2. Fox News

      3. GOP Allies on Capitol Hill

    3. 4.3Rise of Far-Right Extremism in the Military

    4. 4.4Illustrative Case: Storming of the U.S. Capitol

      1. Role of Current and Former Military Members

      2. Means

      3. Motive

      4. Opportunity

  8. 5Impunity Here to Stay

    1. 5.1Trends in Conservative Media

    2. 5.2Trends among GOP Allies on Capitol Hill

    3. 5.3Other Political Pressures

      1. Lobbyist Organizations

      2. Troops Granted Clemency

    4. 5.4Impunity Synergies

  9. 6Trumpism and the Future of Impunity

    1. 6.1Practical Takeaways

    2. 6.2Can Anything Stop Impunity at the Source?

      1. Nonbinding Methods

      2. Pushback from Moderate Republicans

      3. Critiques from Conservative Intellectual Circles

      4. “Guerrilla Sabotage”

      5. Cabinet Resistance

      6. “Self-Policing” by Other Western Leaders

      7. UN Resolutions

      8. Binding Methods

      9. Executive Order

      10. Accession to ICC Jurisdiction

      11. Impeachment

      12. Domestic Prosecution

      13. Global Prosecution

      14. Reforming the Insurrectionist Act

    3. 6.3The End of IHL?

    4. 6.4Why Trump 2.0 Could Be Worse for IHL

    5. 6.5Where to Go from Here

    6. Index

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  • Contents
  • Thomas Gift, University College London
  • Book: Killing Machines
  • Online publication: 23 October 2025
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  • Contents
  • Thomas Gift, University College London
  • Book: Killing Machines
  • Online publication: 23 October 2025
Available formats
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  • Contents
  • Thomas Gift, University College London
  • Book: Killing Machines
  • Online publication: 23 October 2025
Available formats
×