Comments:

"Brian Orend has written a wonderfully lucid and bravely innovative account of just war theory." - Michael Walzer, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton

"Brian Orend's The Morality of War promises to become the single most comprehensive and important book on just war for this generation. It moves far beyond the review of the standard just war categories to deal comprehensively with the new challenges of the conflict with terrorism. It thoughtfully reviews every major military conflict of the past few decades, mining them for implications of the evolving tradition of just war thinking. It concludes with a critical engagement with the major alternatives to just war thinking: pacifism and 'realism.' It is, in short, the most comprehensive and thoughtful assessment of all aspects of just war since Michael Walzer's classic Just and Unjust Wars." - Martin L. Cook, United States Air Force Academy

"Brian Orend has written an ideal introduction to the morality of war: engaging, accessible, comprehensive, historically informed and bang up to date. Here are all the major issues, sensitively discussed with the aid of vivid case studies and examples. Of particular importance is Orend's work on jus post bellum—justice after war—and his discussion of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the broader 'war on terror.' This book deserves to be read by all those with an interest in the dilemmas of war and international relations." - David Rodin, Oxford University

"Brian Orend's The Morality of War is an impressive compendium of every important issue in just war theory. Orend artfully combines a broad historical survey with a deep conceptual analysis as he brings the just war dialogue fully into the 21st Century. His use of case studies to show just war theory in action, as it were, is refreshingly down to earth, illuminating, and thorough. As is all of Brian Orend's work, this book is thoughtful, articulate, and honest. If one were looking for a single book to provide a comprehensive discussion of just war theory, an analysis of the deep moral principles that ground the theory, an examination of the theory applied to real-world scenarios, and an assessment of the role of just war theory in our era, this would be the book." - Daniel S. Zupan, United States Military Academy  

Brian Orend is Director of International Studies and a professor of philosophy at the University of Waterloo. He is the author of Human Rights: Concept and Context (Broadview Press, 2002), War and International Justice: A Kantian Perspective (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2000), and Michael Walzer on War and Justice (University of Wales Press, 2000). An active public speaker and media commentator, Orend has also contributed to The Los Angeles Times, New York Newsday, MacLean's magazine, and The Toronto Star.  

Table of Contents: [Back to Top]

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part One: Just War Theory and International Law

1. A Sweeping History of Just War Theory

2. Jus ad Bellum #1: Resisting Aggression

3. Jus ad Bellum #2: Non-Classical Wars

4. Jus in Bello #1: Just Conduct in War

5. Jus in Bello #2: Supreme Emergencies

6. Jus post Bellum #1: Justice after War

7. Jus post Bellum #2: Coercive Regime Change

Part Two: The Alternatives

8. Evaluating the Realist Alternative

9. Evaluating the Pacifist Alternative

Conclusion

Appendix A: Sources on the Laws of Armed Conflict

Appendix B: Sources on Just War Theory

Index