Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson, Ph.D., is President & CEO of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington, DC and scholar-at-large and past dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University. His expertise, informed by time at the US Department of State and in the military, is on just war thinking, the nexus of religion and national security, and Christian Realism. He is the author or editor of 22 books, including Just American Wars, Politics in a Religious World, and Ending Wars Well.

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A Return to Ideological Competition: Western Liberal Values or Totalitarianism

Biden’s State of the Union lacked the moral clarity on the civilizational struggle the US is in against China and Russia

Niger, Coups, and Violence in West Africa

The July, 2023 coup in Niger has captured global attention as observers note the upward trend in military coups in West Africa

Moral vs. Immoral Resistance Part IV: The Dismal Ethics of Revolutionary Violence

Revolutionary violence is never ethically justified

Moral vs. Immoral Resistance Part III: The American War for Independence

Part 3 of Eric Patterson’s series on Just War

Moral vs. Immoral Resistance Part II: Dietrich Bonhoeffer vs. Colombia’s Terrorists

What is the difference between a terrorist and a freedom-fighter? Part 2 of Eric Patterson’s 4-part series on Just War.

Moral vs. Immoral Resistance Part I: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Non-Violent Direct Action

Part I of Eric Patterson’s four part series on the Just War Tradition

Heroes and Anti-Heroes: A Teachable Moment for the Next Generation

With the lines between good and evil portrayed as ever blurrier, distinguishing heroes, villains, and anti-heroes is critical

The Marshall Plan at 75: An Act to Promote World Peace

The Marshall Plan exemplified the alignment of values and interests good foreign policy should embody.

Just War Reasoning Overcomes Moral Ambiguity on War and Peace

Remarks delivered by Eric Patterson at Catholic University of America on Sept. 13th, 2022 on HR 1009.