Rethinking the Just War Tradition (Suny Series, Ethics and the Military Profession)

The just war tradition is an evolving body of tenets for determining when resorting to war is just and how war may be justly executed. Rethinking the Just War Tradition provides a timely exploration in light of new security threats that have emerged since the end of the Cold War, including ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, threats of terror attacks, and genocidal conflicts within states. The contributors are philosophers, political scientists, a U.S. Army officer, and a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information. They scrutinize some familiar themes in just war theory from fresh and original angles, and also explore altogether new territory. The diverse topics considered include war and the environment, justice in the ending of war, U.S. military hegemony, a general theory of just armed-conflict principles, supreme emergencies, the distinction between combatants and noncombatants, child soldiers, the moral equality of all soldiers, targeted assassination, preventive war, right authority, and armed humanitarian intervention. Clearly written and free of jargon, this book illustrates how the just war tradition can be rethought and applied today. Rethinking the Just WarTradition......Page 4 CONTEN T S......Page 8 P R EFAC E......Page 10 ACKNOWLEDGMEN T S......Page 12 Introduction: Michael W. Brough, John W. Lango,and Harry van der Linden......Page 14 PART 1. Theory......Page 28 1. The Nature of War and Peace:Just War Thinking, Environmental Ethics,and Environmental Justice......Page 30 2. Jus Post Bellum and International Conflict:Order, Justice, and Reconciliation......Page 48 3. Just War Theory and U.S. Military Hegemony......Page 66 4. Generalizing and Temporalizing Just War Principles:Illustrated by the Principle of Just Cause......Page 88 PART 2. Noncombatants and Combatants......Page 110 5. Just War Theory and Killing the Innocent......Page 112 6. When Less Is Not More:Expanding the Combatant/Noncombatant Distinction......Page 128 7. Just War Theory and Child Soldiers......Page 144 8. Dehumanization of the Enemy and the Moral Equality of Soldiers......Page 162 PART 3. Intervention and Law......Page 182 9. Rethinking the Ban on Assassination:Just War Principles in the Age of Terror......Page 184 10. Preventive War and LawfulConstraints on the Use of Force:An Argument against International Vigilantism......Page 196 11. Faith, Force, or Fellowship:The Future of Right Authority......Page 218 12. Violent Civil Disobedience:Defending Human Rights,Rethinking Just War......Page 236 Appendix: Just War Principles:An Introduction with Further Reading......Page 256 CONTRI B U TOR S......Page 264 C......Page 268 D......Page 269 H......Page 270 I......Page 271 J......Page 272 M......Page 273 N......Page 274 R......Page 275 T......Page 276 W......Page 277 Z......Page 278 "Rethinking the Just War Tradition provides a timely exploration in light of new security threats that have emerged since the end of the Cold War, including ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, threats of terror attacks, and genocidal conflicts within states. The contributors are philosophers, political scientists, a U.S. Army officer, and a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information. They scrutinize some familiar themes in just war theory from fresh and original angles, and also explore altogether new territory. The diverse topics considered include war and the environment, justice in the ending of war, U.S. military hegemony, a general theory of just armed-conflict principles, supreme emergencies, the distinction between combatants and noncombatants, child soldiers, the moral equality of all soldiers, targeted assassination, preventive war, right authority, and armed humanitarian intervention. This book illustrates how the just war tradition can be rethought and applied today."--Jacket