An Encyclopedia of War and Ethics

This encyclopedia critically surveys the ethics of warmaking from a variety of perspectives. Historically, efforts to curb the havoc of war confronted three military maxims: military necessity, the right of reprisal, and the obligation of soldiers to obey superior orders. The medieval efforts of just war theorists to protect the innocent, avoid needless havoc, and prohibit excessive weapons rarely affected military practice. Modern congresses have pointed up the inconsistency in concerns about war crimes or crimes against humanity and the weapons and strategies of modern war. The pressures of the military/industrial complex, the profits to be gained by war production, the demands of sovereign nationalism contradict such alternative concerns as those raised by the United Nations and the International Red Cross. Noted experts raise basic questions about what is just in war, describe the views of historic and contemporary thinkers on ethical matters, survey practices at different periods, and discuss key issues. The over 250 entries arranged in alphabetical order cover efforts to curb the havoc of war from medieval to modern times, from accidental war to Zagreb Resolution, different religious perspectives, genocide, UN peacekeeping, and much more. Sources for further reading accompany the entries, and internal cross-references and an index make this major reference easily accessible to students and teachers in military, peace and world affairs studies.