International Society: Diverse Ethical Perspectives

Description

In a time of eroding sovereignty and resurgent nationalism, this collection provides an investigation of the moral foundations of the international order. Drawing on diverse philosophical and theological perspectives, the contributors debate the character of international society, the authority of international law and institutions, and the demands of international justice. In a series of philosophical essays, each followed by a critical commentary, the book considers the contributions of legal positivism, natural law, Kantian ethics, contractarian theory, and moral cosmopolitanism to the discussion of law and justice in international society. It also includes commentaries by experts in Jewish, Christian and Islamic moral theology, and a concluding chapter that compares and contrasts the views presented without seeking to adjudicate their differences. The volume should serve as an introduction to the topic and as a resource for scholars, journalists, policy-makers, and anyone else who wants to understand better the range of moral perspectives that underlies discussion of the international order. In addition to the editors, the contributors are: Brian Barry; Chris Brown; John Charve

David R. Mapel, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is the author of Social Justice Reconsidered. Terry Nardin, Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is the author of Law, Morality, and the Relations of States (Princeton) and editor of The Ethics of War and Peace: Religious and Secular Perspectives (Princeton). Together they are the coeditors of Traditions in International Ethics.

"The work edited by Mapel and Nardin comprises sophisticated philosophical and legal analyses of the concept of 'international society' that is often associated with 'the English school' in International Relations... A useful and highly topical corrective to the 'rogue states doctrine' promulgated by the United States!"--NOD and Conversion "This penetrating study examines ethical perspectives on international society... This volume will be of special interest to scholars of international ethics."--Choice "The collection is excellently constructed and put together and both individually and collectively very powerful... An intellectually distinguished and extremely well conceived project."--N.J. Rengger, Political Studies