Fromthe 18th to the 19th of November 2011, the Centre for European Peace and Security Studies (ZEUS) at the[nbsp] Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg hosted the international workshop “The `Dark´ Side of Normative Argumentation”. This workshop was conducted within the framework of the project “Subjecting Freedom”, which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The event brought together 14 researchers and experts from universities and research institutions in Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Belgium, and Germany. They discussed the role of language and argumentation in relation to the fight against terrorism.
Panel I reflected on theoretical and methodological aspects of normative argumentation of state actors in the area of counterterrorism. Panel II examined legitimising arguments of the “War on Terrorism” as well as the legitimisation of torture and torture-like measures. Panel III compared the argumentations of state actors in different states (United States, Great Britain, Russia). Panel IV focused on the consequences of normative argumentation in the area of counterterrorism for the validity of internationally accepted human rights norms.
In a concluding roundtable discussion, the participants summarised the results of the workshop and discussed perspectives for further cooperation and networking.