What causes a Western democratic leader to stop even feigning to value the law of war? Unlike past US presidents, who at least paid lip service to the law of armed conflict, Donald Trump has openly flouted it: pardoning war criminals; denigrating the Geneva Conventions; praising torture; and discarding military norms of restraint. This gripping account depicts how Trump has upended assumptions about America's outward commitment to the law of war, exposing the conditions that make such defiance possible. Drawing on in-depth case studies and original survey analysis, Thomas Gift explains how Trump has relied on right-wing media and allies in Congress to attack the law of war – not in the shadows, but in broad daylight. Killing Machines cautions that Trump's approach is not an aberration – it's a playbook other leaders could follow. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

‘Thomas Gift’s book addresses a crucial question of our time: what makes it possible for leaders to breach and dismantle a set of well-ingrained and widely accepted international rules and norms? Through a compelling narrative and a convincing research design, Gift sheds light on the means and motives that have enabled Trump and its ‘impunity coalition’ to fundamentally challenge International Humanitarian Law norms. This book is a must-read with important implications for theory and practice.’

Chiara Ruffa - Professor of Political Science, Sciences Po ParisProfessor of Political Science, Sciences Po Paris

‘The Trump administrations have unsettled the mainstream social-scientific consensus that institutions are robust and that they correct and discipline leaders who would defy their rules and practices. Thomas Gift’s ‘Killing Machines’ helps us begin to understand how Trump is jeopardizing the law of war – and, by implication, many other longstanding rules and practices of democracies.’

John M. Owen - Ambassador Henry J. & Marion R. Taylor Professor of Politics, University of Virginia

‘Thomas Gift’s book could not be more timely. He persuasively explains how Donald Trump and his enablers have dismissed or flouted fundamental rules of international humanitarian law, and warns of the dangerous precedent this sets. The book is a chilling reminder of the fragility of the international rules-based order.’

Alison Pert - Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Sydney Law School