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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The Provcast: The Israel-Hamas War

Providence’s Marc LiVecche and Pepperdine’s Robert Kaufman discuss the Israel-Hamas War, proportionality, intent, and fighting to win

Poland and the Changing Geopolitics of Eastern Europe

Providence editor Marc LiVecche, McDonald Scholar of Ethics, War, and Public Life, spoke with the Consul General of the Republic of…

Is Remote Warfare Moral?

Providence’s Marc LiVecche speaks with Joe Chapa, his Air Force pilot, about his new book Is Remote Warfare Moral?

The Principles of Christian Realism, Part 2

Marc LiVecche outlines the Principles of Christian Realism, Part 2.

The Principles of Christian Realism, Part 1

Marc LiVecche speaks on the Principles of Christian Realism, Part 1.

Ryan Bernacchi TOPGUN
TG2: Maverick – Film talk with former TOPGUN instructor CAPT Ryan “Guido” Bernacchi

Marc LiVecche and Ryan Bernacchi discuss “Top Gun: Maverick” in this wide-ranging talk about naval aviation, ethics, and the challenges of military command

Marksism – No. 88: G.K. Chesterton, Flag Day, Israel, Niebuhr
Marksism – No. 88: G.K. Chesterton, Flag Day, Israel, Niebuhr

In this episode, the editors discuss Eric Patterson and Abigail Lindner’s about G.K. Chesterton and Flag Day, Gerald McDermott’s article about Jewish-Christian relations, and Reinhold Niebuhr’s editorial as the Marshall Plan emerged.

Marksism – No. 87: C.S. Lewis, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Christian Realism

The editors discuss Mark Tooley’s article about how C.S. Lewis and Herbert Butterfield interpreted history, Mark Melton’s five impressions on Christian realism from the early Cold War years, and an event promoting Eric Patterson and Robert Joustra’s new book, “Power Politics and Moral Order.”

Marksism – No. 86: Top Gun Audacity, Vocation of Arms, Truman Doctrine
Marksism – No. 86: Top Gun Audacity, Vocation of Arms, Truman Doctrine

The editors discuss Mark Tooley’s review of Top Gun: Maverick, Marc LiVecche’s article about the “vocation of arms,” and how Reinhold Niebuhr viewed the Truman Doctrine and church-state relations in Europe.

Marksism – No. 84: Just War Tears, Ukraine Martyr, China Irony

In this episode the editors discuss Rebeccah Heinrichs’ article about John Kirby’s emotional statement about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mark Tooley’s editorial about Poland and Ukraine as martyr nations, and Christian realist articles from 1947 debating whether the Chinese communists could exist and thrive in a democracy.