Introduction: The US Government and the Assassination of Foreign Officials

Starting with an account of the Trump Administration’s assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, this introductory chapter provides an overview of the place of assassination in US foreign policy. The chapter focuses on three main areas. It showcases the variety of methods deployed by the US government, suggesting that these can be understood along a continuum from more to less direct. It makes the argument that – for a plethora of reasons - the US government relied on assassination primarily against Third World/Global South leaders and officials. Assassination emerged as an option against enemies and (former) allies and van be understood as a lens to explore the evolution of US foreign policy from the Cold War, to the ‘war on drugs,’ to the ‘war on terror.’ The introduction also connects the evolution of US policy surrounding assassination with International Relations literature on norms and norm contestation. Particularly after the mid-1970s, assassination remained an available option through the erosion and contestation of the prohibition of assassination first approved by the Ford Administration. The chapter ends by reflection on the challenges of researching such a secretive and controversial topic.