Marc LiVecche

Marc LiVecche is the McDonald Distinguished Scholar of Ethics, War, and Public Life at Providence. He is also a non-resident research fellow at the US Naval War College, in the College of Leadership and Ethics.

Marc completed doctoral studies, earning distinction, at the University of Chicago, where he worked under the supervision of the political theorist and public intellectual Jean Bethke Elshtain, until her death in August, 2013. His first book, The Good Kill: Just War & Moral Injury, was published in 2021 by Oxford University Press. Another project, Responsibility and Restraint: James Turner Johnson and the Just War Tradition, co-edited with Eric Patterson, was published by Stone Tower Press in the fall of 2020. Currently, he is finalizing Moral Horror: A Just War Defense of Hiroshima. Before all this academic stuff, Marc spent twelve years doing a variety of things in Central Europe—ranging from helping build sport and recreational leagues in post-communist communities, to working at a Christian study and research center, to leading seminars on history and ethics onsite at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp in Poland. This latter experience allowed him to continue his undergraduate study of the Shoah; a process which rendered him entirely ill-suited for pacifism.

Marc lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife and children–and a marmota monax whistlepigging under the shed. He can be followed, or stalked, on twitter @mlivecche. Additional publications can be found at his Amazon author page.

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Foreign Policy ProvCast Episode 83 | Reflections One Year After Oct. 7, 2023

Providence editors Marc LiVecche and Robert Nicholson reflect on the legacy of October 7th, 2023, one year later

Trump and Harris on Israel and Ukraine
Weekend Read: Trump and Harris Failed to Aim at Victory

At Tuesday’s debate, Trump and Harris failed to champion Ukrainian and Israeli victories, respectively. That’s a problem.

Foreign Policy ProvCast, Episode 82 | On Tim Walz, Military Ethos, and Service Before Self

Marc LiVecche, Keith Pavlischek, and Mackubin Owens discuss VP nominee Tim Walz’s (mis)representation of his military service

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A Good Week for Israel (Or: How to Think About the Death of the Wicked)

Israel has struck down a number of high-profile enemies this week. What should Christians think about targeted killing and the deaths of our enemies?

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Particularity, Universality, & How Olympic Values Have Gone a Stinker

The Olympic games have always been about going higher, moving faster, and being stronger than those around you. We used to know this. Let us never forget it.

The Madness of Ceasefire

One definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different outcome. Continued demands that Israel stand-down are insane.

Weekend Read: The Biden Administration is Wrong on Rafah

US President Joe Biden and his NSC spokesman John Kirby have erred in recent statements regarding Israel’s presumptive move on Rafah. The errors are not benign.

What “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” Gets Right and Wrong About Killing

The major difference between Guy Ritchie’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare(MUW) and the historical operation that the film depicts is the…

Missteps Could Derail the Destruction of Hamas

Israel could be on the cusp of a lasting victory, but only if it maintains disciplined fighting

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The Holy Week Reader—Friday: Kavod! The Weight of Glory

Peter Paul Ruben’s extraordinary “Raising of the Cross” helps reflect on Divine love, human flourishing, and the weight of glory.