strawman
STRAW-man
Definition
A fallacious argument that involves misrepresenting or oversimplifying an opponent's position in order to make it easier to attack or refute.
Etymology
Derived from the image of a scarecrow or dummy made of straw, which is easily knocked down or destroyed compared to a real person. The term began appearing in political and logical discourse in the 20th century to describe the deliberate distortion of an argument for the sake of an easy victory.
In the news
The author cautions against critiquing transitional justice by relying on a strawman version of it, noting that one should avoid assigning it unrealistic goals that it was never designed to achieve.
Symposium on Reframing Transitional Justice: Transitional Justice’s “Unit of Analysis” Problem
Read the full article ↗Opinio Juris