Victory: the triumph and tragedy of just war
In: Oxford scholarship online
In: Political Science
In: Oxford scholarship online
Cian O'Driscoll examines the way in which the concept of victory has been treated in just-war thinking, the predominant discourse in the western world for thinking about the rights and wrongs of war.
In: Oxford scholarship online
In: Political Science
Introduction: The Very Object of (Just) War? -- 1: Beneath Every History, Another History -- 2: Making a Desert and Calling It Peace -- 3: The Smell of Napalm in the Morning -- 4: The Usual Definition of Just Wars -- 5: The Right of Conquest -- 6: Mission Accomplished -- 7: The Disease of Victory -- Conclusion: The Art of Losing -- Bibliography -- Index.
Committing one's country to war is a grave decision. Governments often have to make tough calls, but none are quite so painful as those that involve sending soldiers into harm's way, to kill and be killed. The idea of 'just war' informs how we approach and reflect on these decisions. It signifies the belief that while war is always a wretched enterprise it may in certain circumstances, and subject to certain restrictions, be justified. Boasting a long history that is usually traced back to the sunset of the Roman Empire, it has coalesced over time into a series of principles and moral categories - e.g., just cause, last resort, proportionality, etc. - that will be familiar to anyone who has ever entered a discussion about the rights and wrongs of war. Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Just War focuses both on how this particular tradition of thought has evolved over time and how it has informed the practice of states and the legal architecture of international society. This book examines the vexed position that the concept of victory occupies within this framework.
World Affairs Online
Englisch
Oxford University Press
First edition
Problem melden