Intention and Genocide
1 Rutgers University, USA
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* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 30 Sep 2025 / Accepted: 30 Sep 2025 / Published: 14 Oct 2025
Abstract
After describing the Genocide Convention, this paper first considers how the Counterfactual Test might help in determining whether an act was committed with genocidal intent even when defensive military action was also involved. It then considers a problem with the Counterfactual Test and how one might avoid that problem. Finally, it shows how recent philosophical work on the relation between intention and moral and legal permissibility can bear on the correctness of the Genocide Convention itself. If what it argues is correct, more attention should be paid to the soundness of the Genocide Convention itself than to how to meet the requirements for applying it (e.g., how to identify the presence of a genocidal intention).
Keywords: Genocide Convention; intention; foresight; Counterfactual Test; crime; International Court of Justice
OPEN ACCESS
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
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provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).
CITE
Kamm, F.M. Intention and Genocide. Controversial_Ideas 2025, 5, 1.
Kamm FM. Intention and Genocide. Journal of Controversial Ideas. 2025; 5(3):1.
Kamm, F. M. 2025. "Intention and Genocide." Controversial_Ideas 5, no. 3: 1.
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