Ethics & International Affairs articles from October 2005

Ethics & International Affairs archives from October 2005

Ending tyranny in Iraq.
October 1, 2005... As it did at least three times during the twentieth century, the United States (this time joined by its most reliable ally, the United Kingdom, and a few others) has once again deposed a brutal tyrant. The long and cruel rule of Saddam Hussein...

Humanitarian imperialism: response to "ending tyranny in iraq".
October 1, 2005... Fernando Teson offers two "humanitarian rationales" for the war in Iraq. The first, which he calls the "narrow" rationale, is that the war was fought to overthrow a tyrant. The second, "grand" rationale is that it was fought as part of a...

Of tyrants and empires: reply to Terry Nardin.
October 1, 2005... Terry Nardin questions my characterization of the intervention in Iraq as humanitarian in a number of ways. I'll address them in turn. THE NARROW HUMANITARIAN RATIONALE I characterize humanitarian intervention as the use of force to...

Responsibility to protect or Trojan horse? The crisis in Darfur and humanitarian intervention after Iraq.
October 1, 2005... The world's failure to prevent or halt the Rwandan genocide was described as a sin of omission by UN secretary-general Kofi Annan. (1) British prime minister Tony Blair promised that "if Rwanda happens again we would not walk away as the...

Toward a realist ethics of intervention.
October 1, 2005... Most considerations of the ethics of intervention in international relations attempt to reconcile within a common moral framework claims of humanitarian obligation, sovereign rights, international order, and the just use of coercive force. (1)...

Against the new internationalism.
October 1, 2005... Bad consequences can discredit good intentions.--Jurgen Habermas (1) When I think of the challenges facing international society in the wake of the invasion of Iraq, two images come to mind. The first, a work of postcard art, depicts a...

Against the new utopianism: response to "Against the New Internationalism".
October 1, 2005... There is much that is interesting in Anthony Burke's essay. Unfortunately, Burke is unable to resist hyperbolic language and too readily substitutes rhetorical onslaught for compelling argument. For example, those he criticizes as being...

For a cautious utopianism: reply to Jean Bethke Elshtain.
October 1, 2005... I thank Professor Elshtain for her response to my article, and the editors for inviting me to make some clarifications and engage in what is emerging as a profound normative dispute about the underlying hopes and worldview of "just war"...

A moral critique of the cosmopolitan institutional proposal.
October 1, 2005... Preventive intervention, though an old practice, has recently come under widespread discussion due to concerns about international terrorism and the potential availability to rogue states or terrorists of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). With...

Justifying preventive force: reply to Steven Lee.
October 1, 2005... Steven Lee offers a probing and fair-minded critique of our effort to show that the preventive use of military force could be justified if the decision to undertake preventive action was reached through an appropriate institutional process. Our...

The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror.(Book Review)
October 1, 2005... The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror, Michael Ignatieff (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004), 160 pp., $22.95 cloth. By "the lesser evil," Michael Ignatieff means the morally bad acts that governments undertake to...

Arguing about War.(Book Review)
October 1, 2005... Arguing about War, Michael Walzer (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004), 224 pp., $25 cloth. A new book on the ethics of war by Michael Walzer is particularly welcome at this time. More than any other living theorist, Walzer has...

Neverending Wars: The International Community, Weak States, and the Perpetuation of Civil War.(Book Review)
October 1, 2005... Neverending Wars: The International Community, Weak States, and the Perpetuation of Civil War, Ann Hironaka (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005), 204 pp., $39.95 cloth. It is about time someone reminded us that civil wars are not an...

Democracy Beyond Borders: Justice and Representation in Global Institutions.(Book Review)
October 1, 2005... Democracy Beyond Borders: Justice and Representation in Global Institutions, Andrew Kuper (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 228 pp., $74 cloth. Despite the world's intensifying system of transnational interdependence and...

Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination: Moral Foundations for International Law.(Book Review)
October 1, 2005... Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination: Moral Foundations for International Law, Allen Buchanan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 507 pp., $35 cloth. As international law is challenged to respond to the new dynamics of...

The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations.(Book Review)
October 1, 2005... The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations, Sebastian Mallaby (New York: Penguin Press, 2004), 400 pp., $29.95 cloth. Sebastian Mallaby's The World's Banker is a very readable book...