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Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations » (4th Edition)

Book cover image of Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations by Michael Walzer

Authors: Michael Walzer
ISBN-13: 9780465037070, ISBN-10: 0465037070
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Basic Books
Date Published: July 2006
Edition: 4th Edition

Author Biography: Michael Walzer

Michael Walzer is Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, and the author of many widely heralded books, including Spheres of Justice, Exodus and Revolution, and The Company of Critics, all available from Basic Books. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Book Synopsis

This classic work of political ethics has radically reconfigured the way that we think about war

New York Review of Books

A magnificent book, an honor to its writer.

	Preface to the Fourth Edition
	Preface
	Acknowledgments
Part 1	The Moral Reality of War
1	Against "Realism"	3
	The Realist Argument	4
	The Melian Dialogue
	Strategy and Morality	13
	Historical Relativism	16
	Three Accounts of Agincourt
2	The Crime of War	21
	The Logic of War	22
	The Argument of Karl von Clausewitz
	The Limit of Consent	25
	The Tyranny of War	29
	General Sherman and the Burning of Atlanta
3	The Rules of War	34
	The Moral Equality of Soldiers	34
	The Case of Hitler's Generals
	Two Sorts of Rules	41
	The War Convention	44
	The Example of Surrender
Part 2	The Theory of Aggression
4	Law and Order in International Society	51
	Aggression	51
	The Rights of Political Communities	53
	The Case of Alsace-Lorraine
	The Legalist Paradigm	58
	Unavoidable Categories	63
	Karl Marx and the Franco-Prussian War
	The Argument for Appeasement	67
	Czechoslovakia and the Munich Principle
	Finland
5	Anticipations	74
	Preventive War and the Balance of Power	76
	The War of the Spanish Succession
	Pre-emptive Strikes	80
	The Six Day War
6	Interventions	86
	Self-Determination and Self-Help	87
	The Argument of John Stuart Mill
	Secession	91
	The Hungarian Revolution
	Civil War	96
	The American War in Vietnam
	Humanitarian Intervention	101
	Cuba, 1898, and Bangladesh, 1971
7	War's Ends, and the Importance of Winning	109
	Unconditional Surrender	111
	Allied Policy in World War II
	Justice in Settlements	117
	The Korean War
Part 3	The War Convention
8	War's Means, and the Importance of Fighting Well	127
	Utility and Proportionality	129
	The Argument of Henry Sidgwick
	Human Rights	133
	The Rape of the Italian Women
9	Noncombatant Immunity and Military Necessity	138
	The Status of Individuals	138
	Naked Soldiers
	The Nature of Necessity (1)	144
	Submarine Warfare: The Laconia Affair
	Double Effect	151
	Bombardment in Korea
	The Bombing of Occupied France and the Vemork Raid
10	War Against Civilians: Sieges and Blockades	160
	Coercion and Responsibility	161
	The Siege of Jerusalem, 72 A.D.
	The Right to Leave	165
	The Siege of Leningrad
	Taking Aim and the Doctrine of Double Effect	170
	The British Blockade of Germany
11	Guerrilla War	176
	Resistance to Military Occupation	176
	A Partisan Attack
	The Rights of Guerrilla Fighters	179
	The Rights of Civilian Supporters	186
	The American "Rules of Engagement" in Vietnam
12	Terrorism	197
	The Political Code	197
	The Russian Populists, the IRA, and the Stern Gang
	The Vietcong Assassination Campaign
	Violence and Liberation	204
	Jean-Paul Sartre and the Battle of Algiers
13	Reprisals	207
	Deterrence Without Retribution	207
	The FFI Prisoners at Annecy
	The Problem of Peacetime Reprisals	216
	The Attack on Khibye and the Beirut Raid
Part 4	Dilemmas of War
14	Winning and Fighting Well	225
	"Asinine Ethics"	225
	Chairman Mao and the Battle of the River Hung
	The Sliding Scale and the Argument from Extremity	228
15	Aggression and Neutrality	233
	The Right to Be Neutral	234
	The Nature of Necessity (2)	239
	The Rape of Belgium
	The Sliding Scale	242
	Winston Churchill and Norwegian Neutrality
16	Supreme Emergency	251
	The Nature of Necessity (3)	251
	Overriding the Rules of War	255
	The Decision to Bomb German Cities
	The Limits of Calculation	263
	Hiroshima
17	Nuclear Deterrence	269
	The Problem of Immoral Threats	269
	Limited Nuclear War	274
	The Argument of Paul Ramsey
Part 5	The Question of Responsibility
18	The Crime of Aggression: Political Leaders and Citizens	287
	The World of Officials	289
	Nuremberg: "The Ministries Case"
	Democratic Responsibilities	296
	The American People and the Vietnam War
19	War Crimes: Soldiers and Their Officers	304
	In the Heat of Battle	306
	Two Accounts of Killing Prisoners
	Superior Orders	309
	The My Lai Massacre
	Command Responsibility	316
	General Bradley and the Bombing of St. Lo
	The Case of General Yamashita
	The Nature of Necessity (4)	323
	The Dishonoring of Arthur Harris
	Conclusion	325
	Afterword: Nonviolence and the Theory of War	329
	Notes	337
	Index	355

Subjects

History

Military History

General & Miscellaneous Military History
Nonfiction