This chapter introduces the analytical scope and approach of the book. It clarifies the parameters determining the attributability of targeted killings to states under international law, including the concepts of de iure and de facto state agency. It then discusses the interrelation of the international legal frameworks applicable to such state-sponsored targeted killings, namely the law of interstate force, human rights law and humanitarian law. The chapter concludes by explaining the conceptual approach underlying the subsequent analysis, which is based on the two distinct international normative paradigms of law enforcement and of hostilities.
Keywords: state-sponsored targeted killing, de jure state agency, de facto state agency, law of interstate force, international law, international human rights law, international humanitarian law, state responsibility, law enforcement paradigm, paradigm of hostilities, conceptual approach