(Un-)bedingte Gleichheit nichtstaatlicher Gewaltakteure im Völkerrecht

This analysis takes all relevant violent non-state actors into consideration instead of restricting the examination to just one. It takes a comparative angle to discuss whether terrorists, pirates, private security companies and civil war parties are treated coherently under public international law. Are civil war parties and private security companies treated similarly under international humanitarian law? How is the state’s right of self-defense affected if the aggressors are terrorists? What is the rationale behind the criminalisation of piracy? It concludes that all non-state actors should be subject to the same rules and regulations whenever they are engaged in military action with states. Whenever the objective is to vanquish a group of actors completely, a different treatment is warranted.