The Just War tradition provides a set of criteria which political leaders and soldiers use to defend and rationalize war. This book explores the evolution of thinking about just wars and examines its role in shaping contemporary judgements about the use of force, from grand strategic issues of whether states have a right to pre-emptive
self-defence, to the minutiae of targeting.
Bellamy maps the evolution of the Just War tradition, demonstrating how it arose from a myriad of sub-traditions, including scholasticism, the holy war tradition, chivalry, natural law, positive law, Erasmus and Kant's reformism, and realism from Machiavelli to Morgenthau. He then applies this tradition to a range of contemporary normative dilemmas related to terrorism, pre-emption, aerial bombardment and humanitarian intervention.
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"A convincing analysis of the emergence of international law and the dominance of realism after the Second World War [and] an excellent application of this theoretical and historical narrative to contemporary issues."
Political Studies Review
"This is an engaging book that captures the breadth and depth of arguments over why and how we should kill one another."
International Affairs
"A book to admire and to argue with -- in other words, the best sort of book."
Jean Bethke Elshtain, University of Chicago
Introduction -.
PART I: MAPPING THE JUST WAR TRADITION.
Chapter 1: Antiquity -.
Chapter 2: The Middle Ages --.
Chapter 3: Renaissance and Reformation --.
Chapter 4: From Holy War to Enlightenment --.
Chapter 5: Modernity and Beyond --.
PART II: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES.
Chapter 6: The Just War Tradition Today --.
Chapter 7: Terrorism --.
Chapter 8: Pre-emption --.
Chapter 9: Aerial Bombing --.
Chapter 10: Humanitarian Intervention --.
Conclusion.
Bibliography --.
Index
