Just War Theory

[cameron_highlander]

Bump this if it is in the wrong forum.

Does anyone out there have any useful philosophical articles/essays on Just War Theory, either for or against. I'm doing a large seminar on it for one of my classes, and I'm just scrolling around the 'net for articles (that are philosophical in nature) that relate to Just War Theory. Thanks.

 

[Brad Sallows]

There are usually one or two papers each year produced by CSC students which examine just war theory (eg. examine a particular conflict to determine whether it was "just").  The papers will of course have bibliographies and notes which may provide additional sources.

http://wps.cfc.forces.gc.ca/papers/index.html

 

[Lazy W]

have a look at this one:

Franklin Eric Wester - Preemption and Just War: Considering the Case for Iraq 
Found in Parameters, Winter 2004-05

Sorry, I do not have the link on hand, but you can find it using google

Hope it helps

 

[hooch]

Thomas Nagel, War and Massacre

You can find it in an anthology called "Consequentialism and its Critics" (ed. Samuel Scheffler), or here

http://www.utdallas.edu/~jfg021000/nagle_war.html

Not sure if this may help but for a classical reference take a look at Aristotle's Politics, specifically book VII, chapter 14, you can find it here...

http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.7.seven.html

 

[BDG.CalgHighrs]

Normaly my reply would be "do your own homework", but seing as I am putting off doing mine at the moment, this is a good distraction. It's also a topic I have discussed at length in many classes.

If this is for a seminar, and you have not already been through it, I highly suggest you read St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica 'On War'. It is the first comprehensive and cohesive document dealing specificaly with moral (Christian) justice and war. It is the one all-important document that forms the basis for almost all further discussion on the subject, the 'Holy Grail' so to speak. At my university at least, there is no way you will have made it past third year in history or IR without reading it.

Here's a link.

http://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/SS/SS040.html

There are litteraly mountains of paper on this subject and the research is pretty easy. USD has a good bibliography of widely cited texts.

http://ethics.acusd.edu/Applied/Military/Justwar.html

After that I highly suggest hopping on Academic Search Premier/EBSCO Host and searching for additional articles.

 

[54/102 CEF]

No war is a just war because the winners get their hands blown off and the losers get their heads blown off.

have a look at www.clausewitz.com ---- use the search box for JUST WAR

 

[ReadyAyeReady]

Careful using the term "theory".  While alot of people call it the "Just War Theory" it actullay isn't technically a theory.  Most hardcore IR academics will call it the "Just War Tradition."  Its not a big deal, but I've had my ass chewed off more then once by a professor when I've used the term "Just War Theory."  Don't ask me why...its an academci thing... 

 

[BDG.CalgHighrs]

Careful using the term "theory".   While alot of people call it the "Just War Theory" it actullay isn't technically a theory.   Most hardcore IR academics will call it the "Just War Tradition."   Its not a big deal, but I've had my *** chewed off more then once by a professor when I've used the term "Just War Theory."   Don't ask me why...its an academci thing...    

Realy?

The way I have always used it in any of my papers is that if you are talking about it in concept, it is 'theory' just like any other IR pseudo-theory i.e. 'democratic peace theory'.  When you are talking about the practice thereof using a historical context you switch to 'tradition'. Like anything in academic writing, though, if you define your terms carefuly at the outset you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[pbi]

If this is for a seminar, and you have not already been through it, I highly suggest you read St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica 'On War'. It is the first comprehensive and cohesive document dealing specificaly with moral (Christian) justice and war. It is the one all-important document that forms the basis for almost all further discussion on the subject, the 'Holy Grail' so to speak. At my university at least, there is no way you will have made it past third year in history or IR without reading

Pte Gaisford: you stole my thunder! Thomas Aquinas' thought has formed part of the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church--and, I assume, that of the Anglican Church-- for centuries). IMHO this fact tends to give the lie to those who say that war is "un-Christian" or that soldiers have in some way severed themselves from the rest of Christianity.  War is certainly horrible, as 54/102 CEF points out, but it is not automatically condemned by Christianity (as represented by its largest single denomination, both world wide and in Canada).

Cheers.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Bump this if it is in the wrong forum.

Does anyone out there have any useful philosophical articles/essays on Just War Theory, either for or against. I'm doing a large seminar on it for one of my classes, and I'm just scrolling around the 'net for articles (that are philosophical in nature) that relate to Just War Theory. Thanks.

You might find these helpful:

http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList163/D9DAD4EE8533DAEFC1256B66005AFFEF

http://eprints.ouls.ox.ac.uk:81/jconsl/hdb/Volume_08/Issue_02/abstracts/080315.sgm