The Ethics of Preventive War

Description

In this book, eleven leading theorists debate the normative challenges of preventive war through the lens of important public and political issues of war and peace in the twenty-first century. Their discussion covers complex and topical subjects including terrorism, the 'Bush doctrine' and the invasion of Iraq, Iran's nuclear capabilities, superpower unilateralism and international war tribunals. They examine the moral conundrum of preventive intervention and emphasize the need for a stronger and more effective international legal and political order and a corresponding re-evaluation of the normative status of international law. Together their essays form a challenging and timely volume that will be of interest to scholars in ethics and political philosophy, political theory, international relations, international law and peace studies and to general readers interested in the broader issues of peace and justice in the new world order.

Deen K. Chatterjee is the Senior Advisor and Professorial Fellow of Justice and Global Initiative in the S. J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah and the editor-in-chief of the two-volume Encyclopedia of Global Justice and the series editor of Studies in Global Justice. His publications include Democracy in a Global World: Human Rights and Political Participation in the 21st Century (2007), Ethics of Assistance: Morality and the Distant Needy (2004) and, with Don E. Scheid, Ethics and Foreign Intervention (2003).

'A stellar cast of leading scholars address one of the great moral issues of our time. Deen Chatterjee does a superb job in structuring the dialectic between law, philosophy and politics, between critical and exploratory voices, and between war and its alternatives. Highly recommended.' David Rodin, Oxford University 'This excellent book is the best introduction available to the problem of prevention and pre-emptive war in terms of ethics and international law.' Survival: Global Politics and Strategy '... offers insights into the 'moral, legal, and practical viability of preventative war for self-defense and security' ... It is broadly accessible (even the philosophical treatments); is balanced in presenting multiple perspectives; and, unique to many discussions of preventative war, it offers some alternatives and brings humanitarian intervention into the discussion ... General readers; upper-division undergraduate students and above.' P. F. Diehl, Choice 'The Ethics of Preventive War brings together several perceptive commentators on international law, normative theory and politics, in a generally quite illuminating volume of essays ... The essays by this group of seasoned commentators will undoubtedly be of considerable value to those working on issues of war and contemporary international politics and law.' Andrew Vincent, The European Legacy