Pre-emptive Self-Defence: "In an age of international terrorism, the law on self-defence needs to be expanded to include the right to pre-emptive self-defence."

This paper will argue against an expansion of international law to include an unrestricted doctrine of pre-emptive war in the legal conception of self-defence. In order to back this position arguments both for and against pre-emptive self-defence will be examined from a moral as well as practical point of view. After examining the nature of terrorist threats and current international law, this essay will focus on alternatives to and consequences of pre-emptive self-defence, before considering the limits of law and power in international relations.