Suchergebnisse

Describes the obstacles faced by Operation Lifeline, a UN-led relief supply effort for civilians caught in the crossfire of the Sudanese civil war, 1989-90.

Weiss and Minear explore the problems associated with attempting to operationalize the evolving international humanitarian norm that civilians, regardless of location, are entitled to sustenance and medical assistance. In a host of recent civil wars in Africa, the attention of the international community has been drawn to the use of food deprivation by both governments and insurgents. The use of such deprivation has traditionally been part of the arsenals of warring factions, but the widespread and active mobilization of international public opinion against such tactics is relatively new. The authors argue that, while all historical situations are in some sense unique, Sudan is not so idiosyncratic that the lessons and the precedents cannot be replicated elsewhere to protect civilians caught between warring sides in civil wars.

Four orientations in political theory -- moral absolutism, political realism, virtue ethics, & consequentialism -- are argued to oversimplify the relationship between prudence & morality. Because of the impossibility of formulating a complete set of rules under which the statesman must serve, & because siuations arise in which the statesman must choose between conflicting moral & nonmoral values, the idea of value pluralism has taken root in contemporary ethical theory. Value pluralism maintains that one value cannot be made supreme over another, & that practical judgment can discern appropriate solutions when faced with conflicting values. 40 References. A. Cole