Morality and Contemporary Warfare

By James Turner Johnson

Book Overview

When is the use of military force by a nation morally justified? Why has the long accepted moral requirement to protect civilians from intentional attack eroded in recent years? How can the tendency toward unrestrained warfare between parties with major cultural differences be controlled? In this thought-provoking book, James Turner Johnson refocuses the moral analysis of war on the real problems of today's armed conflicts. Moral debates about nuclear war and annihilation fail to address the problems of actual contemporary uses of military force, Johnson argues. We must address the type of armed conflict that has emerged at the end of the twentieth century: local wars -- often inflamed by historical, ethnic, or religious animosities and usually fought with conventional weapons that can be carried by individual fighters.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300091044
• ISBN13: 9780300091045
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Solid book, but too reliant

Johnson does an excellent book introducing the reader to the development of just war theory. His arguments are clear, well structured, and logical. I highly recommend this book for theorists and policymakers (especially) as a strong introduction into the field of just war thinking and all of its real-world incarnations (e.g., humanitarian intervention, civil wars, international humanitarian law, and peace-building/enforcing).The only criticism I have is that it is too reliant on only a few sources. Johnson builds almost all of his arguments around Michael Waltzer's "Just and Unjust Wars" and Chirstian thought. If we are to come to a global political consensus on the laws of war, including what a "crime against humanity" is, we need to come to a moral consensus. That moral consensus, as Johnson does admit, will only come through a further understanding of non-Christian thought on the subject.All in all, it's a strong book and definitely worth reading.

Gaining perspective

Johnson does an outsatnding job in looking at the developement of Just War Theory. Particularly helpful is his noting the recent development of the pacifist presumption which is new developement in modern academic thought. The book goes a long way in bringing the Just War Theory out of its current misuse by both the pacifists and national leaders. I highly recommend this book.