Jean Bethke Elshtain

When do nations have not only the option of but the responsibility to intervene in the affairs of other nations?

The Rise of Violent, Revolutionary Ideology in the 20th Century and its Christian Realist Tonic.

Patriotism is part of our repertoire of civic ideals and identities, as Jean Bethke Elshtain reminded us. While its excesses and perversions are to be lamented, Patriotism rightly perceived yields a concern for the moral tenor of one’s culture.

Ukraine’s actions have been broadly reflective of the desire to protect innocents and to stop the military aggressor that is killing innocents through indiscriminate strikes.

The prophet Václav Havel wants Americans to know that there is an important connection between remembering God and living in freedom.

Just war thinking is moral analysis of military action, not a framework for foreign policy. Acknowledging these limitations helps us to become better just war casuists, and it highlights the need for values-driven strategic thinking in the foreign policy sphere.

During this season of Advent, the patriotic American citizen can find much for which to be hopeful. For the American Christian, we are reminded of our ultimate reason for hope.

James Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, first explored the moral decision-making of national security stewardship in his 1960 short story “For Your Eyes Only.”

In her 2003 book Just War Against Terror, Jean Bethke Elshtain argued for a new paradigm for a just war: the fight against global terrorism, particularly terrorism perpetrated by followers of militant Islam. Twenty years after 9/11, this claim is due for revisiting.