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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Pope Leo
Where Will Leo XIV Stand on War?

The late Pope Francis failed to represent the best of his tradition’s teaching on war and martial responsibility. It is crucial that Leo XIV rectifies this.

Episode 87 | Of American Popes and American Power in a Multipolar Age

Editors James Diddams, Marc LiVecche, Mark Tooley and Robert Nicholson discuss Pope Francis’ legacy, Trump’s recent trip to the Middle East, and the idea of “spheres of influence” in US grand strategy

80 Years After VE Day, We Remember That Victory Is Rooted in Virtue

The victory in Europe was made possible by character, resolve, and capability of the Allied warrior. Such virtues were needed then. They are needed still.

Foreign Policy Provcast, Episode 86 | Providence Magazine’s 10th Anniversary

Providence editors Mark Tooley, Marc LiVecche, James Diddams, and Robert Nicholson discuss the past and future of Providence as the magazine’s 10th anniversary comes up

kavod good friday weight glory
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.

go and do likewise, violence sacrifice jesus easter
The Holy Week Reader—Thursday: Go and Do Likewise

Maundy Thursday has much to say both about the location of human flourishing and the role violence might play in it.

Judas' betrayal of Jesus shows that Divine love is willing to give human beings despite the risks, because love must be free
The Holy Week Reader—Wednesday: Volo Ut Sis

Christ’s treatment of Judas, despite his betrayal, illustrates the Divine Love that was willing to bring human beings into being despite the risks. Because that’s what love does.

the second temple destruction on passover
The Holy Week Reader—Tuesday: Living Faithfully Under Sentence of Death

Holy Tuesday is about preparation, endurance, and hope despite the grim realities around us. In the face of the certainty of death, we are shown how best to live.

Was Jesus a Pacifist?
The Holy Week Reader—Monday: A Savior Who Overturns Tables

The cleansing of the temple reveals the character of our Messiah and is a model for those who would follow him.

Palm Sunday Jesus triumphal entry
A Tale of Two Cities: What the Cross of Christ Did (And Didn’t Do)

The Holy Week Reader: Palm Sunday witnessed the rise of two cities in the world of humanity. Christians are citizens of both. Attendant responsibilities follow.