In Defence of WarPacifism is popular. Many hold that war is unnecessary, since peaceful means of resolving conflict are always available, if only we had the will to look for them. Or they believe that war is wicked, essentially involving hatred of the enemy and carelessness of human life. Or they posit the absolute right of innocent individuals not to be deliberately killed, making it impossible to justify war in practice. Peace, however, is not simple. Peace for some can leave others at peace to perpetrate mass atrocity. What was peace for the West in 1994 was not peace for the Tutsis of Rwanda. Therefore, against the virus of wishful thinking, anti-military caricature, and the domination of moral deliberation by rights-talk In Defence of War asserts that belligerency can be morally justified, even though tragic and morally flawed. |
Contents
Can it survive combat? | |
Lessons from the Somme and the First | xiii |
In memory | xxxv |
Against legal positivism and liberal individualism | l |
Legality | xxxi |
morality and Kosovo | li |
The case of Iraq | lxvii |
Conclusion | cxlviii |
Bibliography | clvii |
Index | clxviii |
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Common terms and phrases
action aggressor anger Aquinas argue atrocious attritional attritional warfare Augustine authority basic battle bellum British casualties cause Chapter Christian Christian pacifism civilian claim coercion commander common compassion culpable David Rodin death deliberate disproportionate doctrine double effect empire enemy Ethics evil fact force forgiveness Gary Sheffield German God’s Grotius Haig harm hatred Hauerwas Hays Hays’s Hew Strachan human Ibid implies injustice innocent intend international law interpretation invasion Iraq Jesus John Howard Yoder judgement justice justified kill Kosovo London Matthew means moral moral realism motivated NATO’s nature Nevertheless Niebuhr nonviolence one’s pacifist Paul’s peace political proportionate punishment reason reconciliation regime Reinhold Niebuhr resentment response retribution Richard Rodin Saddam Hussein Security Council selfdefence sense sinners soldiers sometimes Somme Stanley Hauerwas suffering Summa Theologiae Taliban Testament theological threat troops University Press unjust vengeance victims violence World wrong wrongdoer wrongdoing Yoder