The ethics of war / Edition 1

by A. J. Coates

Overview

Drawing on examples from the history of warfare from the Crusades to the present day, The ethics of war explores the limits and possibilities of the moral regulation of war. While resisting the commonly held view that ‘war is hell’, A. J. Coates focuses on the tensions which exist between war and morality. The argument is conducted from a just war standpoint, though the moral ambiguity and mixed record of that tradition is acknowledged and the dangers which an exaggerated view of the justice or moral worth of war poses are underlined. In the first part, the broad image of the just war is compared with the competing images of realism, militarism and pacifism. In the second part, the moral issues associated both with the decision to go to war and with the manner in which war is conducted are explored. Was the allied decision to go to war in the Gulf premature? Were economic sanctions a more effective and morally preferable option? Was Britain justified in going to war over the Falklands? Did the Allied bombing of Germany in the Second World War constitute a war crime? Should the IRA’s claim to belligerent status be recognised? These questions and more are raised in this important book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780719040467
Publisher:	Manchester University Press
Publication date:	08/21/2007
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.43(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

A.J. Coates is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Reading

Table of Contents

Introduction***Part One: Images of War***1. Realism***2. Militarism***3. Pacifism***4. The Just War***Part Two: Principles and Concepts of the Just War***5. Legitimate Authority***6. Just Cause***7. Proportionality and the Recourse to War***8. Last Resort***9. Proportionality and the Conduct of War***10. Noncombatant Immunity***11. Peacemaking***Bibliography**8. Index