War and the Politics of Denial: Israel as a "Special Case"?

In this article, we propose a critical criminology of war that is informed by Stanley Cohen’s notion of states of denial and his portrayal of Israel as a “special case” in this respect. After a general introduction into the development of the criminology of war, we focus on two analytical lines, namely (1) the notion that a culture of denial is indispensable in the legitimation of war and war crimes and (2) that postcolonial thinking can explain why different conflicts are framed differently in different countries, and that the differences between the global North and the global South are the most fundamental in this respect. We argue how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is probably the most illustrative in this respect and single out that particular conflict in the remainder of our analysis. We analyse the narratives that are used to deny the atrocities Israel is accused of and how other events are reframed in a way that best suits Israel’s political interests.