"Brian Orend's The Morality of War promises to become the single most comprehensive and important book on just war for this generation. It moves far beyond the review of the standard just war categories to deal comprehensively with the new challenges of the conflict with terrorism. It thoughtfully reviews every major military conflict of the past few decades, mining them for implications of the evolving tradition of just war thinking. It concludes with a critical engagement with the major alternatives to (...) just war thinking: pacifism and 'realism.' It is, in short, the most comprehensive and thoughtful assessment of all aspects of just war since Michael Walzer's classic Just and Unjust Wars." - Martin L. Cook, United States Air Force Academy. (shrink)

Drawing on the concepts and values of the just war tradition, this article presents an account of jus post bellum as applied to the Persian Gulf War, Bosnia and Kosovo, and the war against terrorism in Afghanistan.

War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political communities. Thus, fisticuffs between individual persons do not count as a war, nor does a gang fight, nor does a feud on the order of the Hatfields versus the McCoys. War is a phenomenon which occurs only between political communities, defined as those entities which either are states or intend to become states (in order to allow for civil war). Classical war is international war, a war (...) between different states, like the two World Wars. But just as frequent is war within a state between rival groups or communities, like the American Civil War. Certain political pressure groups, like terrorist organizations, might also be considered “political communities,” in that they are associations of people with a political purpose and, indeed, many of them aspire to statehood or to influence the development of statehood in certain lands. (shrink)

This is a book about justice: the justice of a nation's major institutions and the justice of the interaction of nations on the world stage. Michael Walzer, one of North America's most prominent social critics, has written acclaimed works about the morality of warfare, the distribution of health care and political power, the need to tolerate social difference, and the nature of justice itself.

A contemporary Kantian perspective, loosely defined, is a cosmopolitan moral doctrine, focused on human rights protection, and framed as a general set of rules meant to guide state conduct. The core propositions of just-war theory, presupposed here, are that: moral norms are relevant to judging state conduct in the international arena; and sometimes it is morally permissible for a state to resort to war in the international arena. In general, it is permissible for a state to do so in order (...) to punish aggression and to protect and vindicate those basic rights of persons and peoples which have been violated by the act of aggression. Just-war theory has a set of criteria for deciding when a state may resort to war, how it should conduct itself within it, and how it ought to end its wars in reasonable fashion. It is important to note that many of the strictures of just-war theory have been codified into those international laws which regulate armed conflict. (shrink)

These three books show how the enduring principles of just war theory can be applied insightfully and fruitfully to even the latest kinds of conflict, weaponry, and tactics; and they show how just war theory raises significant issues of the background political context, out of which all wars develop.

The main premise of this article is that contemporary just-war theory offers only a weak response to its two main rivals: realism and pacifism. These alternativeperspectives on the ethics of war and peace are dismissed too readily by just-war theory, often for the wrong reasons. In light of this deficiency, this paper seeksto forward the debate in two ways: 1) by reconstructing realism and pacifism in a rigorous and charitable fashion; and 2) by contending that, even in the face of (...) such formidable rivals, just-war theory remains the most plausible and principled account of the deep moral and political problems associated with the momentous issue of armed conflict. (shrink)

This essay explores Kant's writings on war and peace, and concentrates on the thesis that Kant has a just war theory. It strives to explain what the substance of that theory is, and finds that it differs in several respects from that offered by the just war tradition. Many scholars suspect that Kant has no just war theory. Effort is made to overturn this conventional understanding: first by showing, negatively, that Kant does not subscribe to the two main rival doctrines (...) on the issue, namely, realism and pacifism; and second by demonstrating, positively, how the core propositions of just war theory are consistent with Kant's basic moral and political principles. Interpretive reconstruction then reveals the full substance of Kant's just war theory, which is divided into accounts of jus ad bellum, jus in bello and jus post bellum. Kant's jus post bellum reflections remain his most deep, original and relevant in this regard. (shrink)

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 . 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. (shrink)

The main premise of this article is that contemporary just-war theory offers only a weak response to its two main rivals: realism and pacifism. These alternativeperspectives on the ethics of war and peace are dismissed too readily by just-war theory, often for the wrong reasons. In light of this deficiency, this paper seeksto forward the debate in two ways: 1) by reconstructing realism and pacifism in a rigorous and charitable fashion; and 2) by contending that, even in the face of (...) such formidable rivals, just-war theory remains the most plausible and principled account of the deep moral and political problems associated with the momentous issue of armed conflict. (shrink)

In Michael Walzer on War and Justice Brian Orend offers the first clear and comprehensive look at Walzer's entire body of work. He deals with controversial subjects - from bullets, blood, and bombs to the distribution of money, political power, and health care - and surveys both the national and the international fields of justice. This is an important book that provides a thought-provoking and critical look at some of the most pressing and controversial topics of our time.

Kant’s landmark essay “On Perpetual Peace” is as timely, relevant, and inspiring today as when it was first written over 200 years ago. In it we find a forward-looking vision of a world respectful of human rights, dominated by liberal democracies, and united in a cosmopolitan federation of diverse peoples. The essay is an expression of global idealism that remains an enduring antidote to the violence and cynicism that are all too often on display in international relations and foreign affairs. (...) This book features a fresh and vigorous translation of Kant’s essay by Ian Johnston, and it includes an extended introduction by philosopher Brian Orend. The introduction situates Kant’s essay in its historical context and offers a substantial analysis, section by section, of the essay itself. In doing so, Orend not only discusses Kant’s personal life and the history of the perpetual peace tradition, he also shows how Kant’s provocative ideas have inspired and infused our own time, especially the concept of a global alliance of free societies committed to respecting human rights. (shrink)

One in the series New Dialogues in Philosophy, Brian Orend has written an engaging dialogue from the perspectives of a critically injured soldier and his spouse on all questions related to the ethics of going to war and the ethics of fighting in war. Readers learn of the major traditions of thinking about war, including realism, pacifism, just war theory, and international law. Orend draws on a variety of references from the Civil War to the current war in Iraq to (...) illustrate the moral dimension and ambiguity of war. (shrink)

One in the series New Dialogues in Philosophy, Brian Orend has written an engaging dialogue from the perspectives of a critically injured soldier and his spouse on all questions related to the ethics of going to war and the ethics of fighting in war. Readers learn of the major traditions of thinking about war, including realism, pacifism, just war theory, and international law. Orend draws on a variety of references from the Civil War to the current war in Iraq to (...) illustrate the moral dimension and ambiguity of war. (shrink)

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. 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. (shrink)