Morality And Modern War

With the ending of the strategic certainties of the Cold War, the need for moral clarity over when, where and how to start, conduct and conclude war has never been greater. There has been a recent revival of interest in the just war tradition. But can a medieval theory help us answer twenty-first century security concerns? David Fisher explores how just war thinking can and should be developed to provide such guidance. His in-depth study examines philosophical challenges to just war thinking, including those posed by moral scepticism and relativism. It explores the nature and grounds of moral reasoning; the relation between public and private morality; and how just war teaching needs to be refashioned to provide practical guidance not just to politicians and generals but to ordinary service people. The complexity and difficulty of moral decision-making requires a new ethical approach - here characterised as virtuous consequentialism - that recognises the importance of both the internal quality and external effects of agency; and of the moral principles and virtues needed to enact them. Having reinforced the key tenets of just war thinking, Fisher uses these to address contemporary security issues, including the changing nature of war, military pre-emption and torture, the morality of the Iraq war, and humanitarian intervention. He concludes that the just war tradition provides not only a robust but an indispensable guide to resolve the security challenges of the twenty-first century.

Contemporary security has expanded its meaning, content and structure in response to globalisation and the emergence of greatly improved world-wide communication. The protocols of modern warfare, including targeted killing, enhanced interrogations, mass electronic surveillance and the virtualisation of war have changed the moral landscape and brought diverse new interactions with politics, law, religion, ethics and technology. This book addresses how and why the nature of security has changed and what this means for the security actors involved and the wider society. Offering a crossdisciplinary perspective on concepts, meanings and categories of security, the book brings together scholars and experts from a range of disciplines including political, military studies and security studies, political economy and international relations. Contributors reflect upon new communication methods, postmodern concepts of warfare, technological determinants and cultural preferences to provide new theoretical and analytical insights into a changing security environment and the protocols of war in the 21st century. A useful text for scholars and students of security studies, international relations, global governance, international law and ethics, foreign policy, comparative studies and contemporary world history.

'A remarkable book, small in size but with great clarity and insight into moral and ethical principles that need to be understood and reaffirmed' - Henry Kissinger Every society and every period of history has had to face the reality of war. War inevitably yields situations in which the normal ethical rules of society have to be overridden. The Just War tradition has evolved over the centuries as a careful endeavour to impose moral discipline and humanity on resort to war and in its waging, and the tradition deserves our attention now as much as ever. Tracing the origin and nature of the tradition from its roots in Christian thinking and providing a clear summary of its principles, and drawing examples from Kosovo, Afghanistan and the wars in Iraq, Charles Guthrie and Michael Quinlan look at the key concepts in relation to modern armed conflict. This short but powerful book sets out the case for a workable and credible moral framework for modern war before, while and after it is waged.

Morality and Modern Warfare is a thought-provoking and insightful exploration of one of the most pressing ethical issues of our time. Written by William J. Nagle, a respected scholar and expert on ethics and war, this book challenges readers to consider the complex moral dilemmas that arise in the context of modern warfare. In this book, Nagle provides a detailed analysis of the ethical challenges facing soldiers, policymakers, and civilians in today's conflicts, from drone warfare and cyber warfare to the use of torture and targeted assassinations. He explores the tensions between national security and individual rights, as well as the moral implications of new technologies and strategies of warfare. Drawing on a wealth of historical and contemporary examples, Nagle argues that a nuanced and critical approach to morality in modern warfare is essential. He contends that a deeper understanding of the ethical dimensions of war can help us to develop more effective and just policies and practices. With its rigorous analysis and clear writing, Morality and Modern Warfare is an essential read for anyone interested in the ethics of war and the challenges of contemporary conflict. It is a valuable resource for scholars, students, policymakers, and anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of the moral complexities of modern warfare.

The threat to the survival of humankind posed by nuclear weapons has been a frightening and essential focus of public debate for the last four decades and must continue to be so if we are to avoid destroying ourselves and the natural world around us. One unfortunate result of preoccupation with the nuclear threat, however, has been a new kind of "respectability" accorded to conventional war. In this radical and cogent argument for pacifism, Robert Holmes asserts that all war--not just nuclear war--has become morally impermissible in the modern world. Addressing a wide audience of informed and concerned readers, he raises dramatic questions about the concepts of "political realism" and nuclear deterrence, makes a number of persuasive suggestions for nonviolent alternatives to war, and presents a rich panorama of thinking about war from St. Augustine to Reinhold Niebuhr and Herman Kahn. Holmes's positions are compellingly presented and will provoke discussion both among convinced pacifists and among those whom he calls "militarists." "Militarists," we realize after reading this book, include the majority of us who live a friendly and peaceful personal life while supporting a system which, if Holmes is correct, guarantees war and risks eventual human extinction. Originally published in 1989. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The first edition of The Morality of War was one of the most widely-read and successful books ever written on the topic. In this second edition, Brian Orend builds on the substantial strengths of the first, adding important new material on: cyber-warfare; drone attacks; the wrap-up of Iraq and Afghanistan; conflicts in Libya and Syria; and protracted struggles (like the Arab-Israeli conflict). Updated and streamlined throughout, the book offers new research tools and case studies, while keeping the winning blend of theory and history featured in the first edition. This book remains an engaging and comprehensive examination of the ethics, and practice, of war and peace in today’s world.