| Series |
Political theory today
Political theory today. UNAUTHORIZED
|
| Contents |
Ideas and ideals of the just war -- The just war creed -- "Just cause" and the possibility of jus ad bellum -- Fighting just wars : balancing ends and means. |
| Summary |
The idea that war is sometimes justified if certain moral criteria are met - if a war is 'just' - is deeply embedded in public consciousness. However, just war theory is only credible so long as we believe that just war is possible in practice. In this engaging and original book, Christopher Finlay elucidates the - often unstated - assumptions underlying our belief in the possibility of just war. He defends these assumptions from a range of objections, arguing that just war theory is a regrettable but necessary reflection of the moral realities of modern international politics. He goes on to argue, however, that in practice the employment of just war theory is complex, possible only on the basis of careful prior moral appraisal of a political landscape - and if war does turn out to be necessary, a balance must be struck between just war as a theoretical ideal and the practical realities of conflict. This book will be a crucial guide to the complex moral landscape of just war theory for all students and scholars of the ethics and political theory of war. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references. |
| Issued in other form | Online version: Finlay, Christopher (Christopher J.). Is just war possible? Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA, USA : Polity Press, 2018 9781509526536 |
| LCCN | 2018012984 |
| ISBN | 9781509526499 hardback |
| ISBN | 1509526498 hardback |
| ISBN | 9781509526505 paperback |
| ISBN | 1509526501 paperback |
