Just War Tradition

Through a Christian realist lens, the police officer’s mission closely corresponds to the just war tradition’s aim of promoting order, justice, and peace. Marc LiVecche reviews how the police failed in the killing of George Floyd.

Matthew A. Sutton’s Double Crossed is an important book that offers a case study of how religious leaders contributed to national security in a challenging wartime environment.

The National Security Strategy says China’s economic and military actions risk diminishing the sovereignty of many states in the Indo-Pacific. The US Navy has a role in defending these states’ rights.

What does the Bible teach us about nuclear weapons treaties? Nothing. That’s right. Nothing. If one scours their Bibles, they will find not one single passage that tells us what God thinks about nuclear non-proliferation treaties.

Talking about a pandemic like it is an armed conflict obscures the clear distinctions between military and medical ethics, leading to faulty judgments and potentially creating additional moral and material harm.

Last week marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Iwo Jima. The Japanese intended to make the American cost of taking the island so severe they would reconsider invading the Japanese home islands. On this point, the Japanese condemned themselves by their very success. The shadow of Iwo Jima is arguably a mushroom cloud.

Realism and the just war ethic both pursue war in certain contexts, so they can appear to be close cousins. But the just war ethic shares less with realism than realism shares with pacifism.

Whether one is a historian who hopes to learn more about America’s conflicts, a philosopher who works in ethics or political philosophy, or a soldier or veteran who enjoys military history, America and the Just War Tradition addresses each of these topics and audiences from a variety of authors in a range of disciplines.

How should Christians respond to the killing of someone so monstrous that their death seems to be a net gain for the world, a victory for the goods of justice, order, and peace?