scholarly journals Scarred souls, weary warriors, and military intervention: the emergence of the subject in the just war writings of Jean Bethke Elshtain

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 859-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER LEE
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Just War ◽  
Military Intervention ◽  
Military Force ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Just War Tradition ◽  
A Site

AbstractOver the past three decades Jean Bethke Elshtain has used her critique and application of just war as a means of engaging with multiple overlapping aspects of identity. Though Elshtain ostensibly writes about war and the justice, or lack of justice, therein, she also uses just war a site of analysis within which different strands of subjectivity are investigated and articulated as part of her broader political theory. This article explores the proposition that Elshtain's most important contribution to the just war tradition is not be found in her provision of codes or her analysis of ad bellum or in bello criteria, conformity to which adjudges war or military intervention to be just or otherwise. Rather, that she enriches just war debate because of the unique and sometimes provocative perspective she brings as political theorist and International Relations scholar who adopts, adapts, and deploys familiar but, for some, uncomfortable discursive artefacts from the history of the Christian West: suffused with her own Christian faith and theology. In so doing she continually reminds us that human lives, with all their attendant political, social, and religious complexities, should be the focus when military force is used, or even proposed, for political ends.

13. Normative International Relations Theory

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni Erskine
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Iraq War ◽  
Just War ◽  
Ethical Reasoning ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Ir Theory ◽  
Just War Tradition

This chapter deals with normative international relations theory, a field of study that relies on a variety of approaches and theories to explore moral expectations, decisions, and dilemmas in world politics. Normative IR theory has adopted — and adapted — conceptual categories such as communitarianism and cosmopolitanism from political theory. It also borrows from moral philosophy to designate different types of ethical reasoning, such as deontology and consequentialism. The chapter begins with an overview of the history, influences, and some of the categories that normative IR theory brings to the study of international relations. It then examines the ways in which normative IR theory engages with the hidden ethical assumptions of a range of IR approaches. It also considers the case of civilian deaths during the 2003 Iraq war in relation to the the just war tradition, and more specifically to the idea that soldiers have duties to exercise restraint in war.

scholarly journals Political Science in the Legacy of Classical Islamic Literature

1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
Taha J. Al Alwani
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
The Past ◽  
Relevant Today ◽  
Political Analysis ◽  
History Of ◽  
Development Methods

In my own limited knowledge I know of no specialized studies in ourclassical legacy which could be described today as political thought, or astreatises on political systems, international relations, systems of government,the history of diplomacy, political development, methods of political analysis,political theory, political planning, or any of the other categories currentlystudied as a part of contemporary knowledge.Nonetheless, many of the issues discussed on these subjects were treatedin the classical legacy through the medium of fiqh (laws of Islam), whichin its long history touched upon many of the subjects studied today in thesocial sciences. Likewise, many of the questions dealt with in the field ofpolitical science were addressed by the early scholars of Islam within theframework of their writings on classical Fiqh of al Ahkam al Sultaniyah (thePrecepts of Power). Perhaps the book written by Shaykh Ibn Taymiyah, alSiyasah al Shar’iyah, was one of the most distinctive efforts in this directionas well as the book by al Khatib al Iskafi, Lutf al Tadbir, which also dealtwith certain issues which remain relevant today. Similar to such works areSuluk al Malik Fi Tadbir al Mamalik, Bada’i al-Silk, and others.These works show that the meaning of politics to the Muslim mind, andas envisioned by Islam, involves making arrangements for mankind inaccordance with the values prescribed by Allah (SWT) for the realizationof His purposes in creation, and in fulfillment of the trust of vicegerency,the duties of civilization, and the responsibility of the Ummah to act as awitness unto all mankind in its capacity as the “Middlemost Nation.”“Making arrangements” includes reading the past and learning its lessonsas well as interpreting, understanding, and analyzing the present in the lightof those lessons. Other elements included in “making arrangements” areplanning for the future and benefiting from all scientific knowledge that clarifies ...

scholarly journals As relações africano-brasileiras de longa data: uma análise da investigação histórica sobre o assunto no Brasil * The african-brazilian long term relationship: an analysis of historical research about the subject in Brazil

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
GILBERTO DA SILVA GUIZELIN
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Historical Documents ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical View ◽  
Long Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject

<p><strong>Resumo:</strong> O presente artigo parte do pressuposto de que ao contrário da história das relações contemporâneas entre o Brasil e a África, a história das relações pretéritas entre as duas margens do Atlântico Sul não tem recebido a mesma atenção por parte dos investigadores brasileiros. Acredita-se aqui que tal descompasso investigativo seja fruto de uma visão histórica reducionista, por muito tempo predominante no meio acadêmico nacional, e, por conseguinte, da dificuldade sentida entre os próprios investigadores brasileiros de reunir fontes que lhes permitam recriar, observar e analisar o contexto das relações de longa data entre o Brasil e a África. Ainda assim, ressalta-se aqui que a partir de uma reorientação quanto às perspectivas de investigação é sim possível o desenvolvimento de novos estudos do entrosamento africano-brasileiro mais distante.</p><p><strong>Palavras-chave:</strong> historiografia brasileira; História das Relações Internacionais; relações Africano-Brasileiras.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Abstract:</strong> This article begins by assuming that unlike the history of contemporary relations between Brazil and Africa, the history of the past relations between the two costs of South Atlantic has not received the same attention by Brazilian researchers. It is believed here that this discrepancy is a result of a reductionist historical view,  prevalent for a long time in the national academic community, and therefore by the difficulty felt among the Brazilian researchers themselves to gather historical documents that allow them to re-create, observe and analyze the context of the past relation between Brazil and Africa. Still, it is also emphasized in this article that from a reorientation on the prospects of research the development of new studies on the African -Brazilian long term relationship is indeed possible.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Brazilian historiography; History of International Relations; African-Brazilian relations.</p>

Divisions within the Ranks? The Just War Tradition and the Use and Abuse of History

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cian O'Driscoll
Keyword(s):  
Sigmund Freud ◽  
Just War ◽  
Special Section ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Knock Out ◽  
Historical Approach ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Just War Tradition ◽  
Analytical Approaches

Plato wrote in theRepublicthat quarrels between fellow countrymen are wont to be more virulent and nasty than those between external enemies. Sigmund Freud (and latterly Michael Ignatieff and Toni Erskine) have similarly cautioned of the malice and excess that can attend conflicts that are fuelled not by antithetical oppositions, but by the “narcissism of minor difference.” Bearing these warnings in mind, scholars of the ethics of war would be well advised to consider the implications of James Turner Johnson's acute observation in his contribution to this special section ofEthics & International Affairsthat their field of study is currently beset not so much by external opposition as by divisions within the ranks. The principal antagonism within the field, at least as I understand it, is the rift that has emerged between what I shall call historical and analytical approaches to the subject. Laying my cards on the table, the work that I have done in the past connects more clearly with the former than the latter. However, it has struck me, as it must have struck others, that the historical approach has in recent years come to assume a rather scuffed and unfashionable, evenoutré, appearance. It has been the subject of numerous curt dismissals, but has also, more interestingly, been tarnished by a few powerful critiques. This article will elucidate four of the most hard-hitting charges levied at the historical approach, and evaluate its continuing utility in light of them. The question then is: Have the critics of this approach landed it a knock-out blow, or can the historical approach withstand the bricks and bats that have been hurled its way?

Political Science in the Legacy of Classical Islamic Literature

1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
Taha J. Al 'Alwani
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
The Past ◽  
Relevant Today ◽  
Political Analysis ◽  
History Of ◽  
Development Methods

In my own limited knowledge I know of no specialized studies in ourclassical legacy which could be described today as political thought, or astreatises on political systems, international relations, systems of government,the history of diplomacy, political development, methods of political analysis,political theory, political planning, or any of the other categories currentlystudied as a part of contemporary knowledge.Nonetheless, many of the issues discussed on these subjects were treatedin the classical legacy through the medium of fiqh (laws of Islam), whichin its long history touched upon many of the subjects studied today in thesocial sciences. Likewise, many of the questions dealt with in the field ofpolitical science were addressed by the early scholars of Islam within theframework of their writings on classical Fiqh of al Ahkam al Sultaniyah (thePrecepts of Power). Perhaps the book written by Shaykh Ibn Taym-yah, alSiyasah al Shar’iyah, was one of the most distinctive efforts in this directionas well as the book by al Khatib al Iskafi, Lutf al Tadbir, which also dealtwith certain issues which remain relevant today. Similar to such works areSuluk al Malik Fi Tadbir al Mamalik, Bada’i al-Silk, and others.These works show that the meaning of politics to the Muslim mind, andas envisioned by Islam, involves making arrangements for mankind inaccordance with the values prescribed by Allah (SWT) for the realizationof His purposes in creation, and in fulfillment of the trust of vicegerency,the duties of civilization, and the responsibility of the Ummah to act as awitness unto all mankind in its capacity as the “Middlemost Nation.”“Making arrangements” includes reading the past and learning its lessonsas well as interpreting, understanding, and analyzing the present in the lightof those lessons. Other elements included in “making arrangements” areplanning for the future and benefiting from all scientific knowledge that clarifies ...

The political theory and institutional history of states systems

1980 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Berridge
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
World Politics ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Institutional History ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject

The books which are the subject of this article1 lie squarely (if a little uneasily on the part of Northedge) in the so-called ‘classical‘ tradition of scholarship in International Relations. This tradition eschews both the attempt to explain international politics by aping the methodology of the natural sciences and any interest in saying something of general import about the process of foreign policy formulation. Rather, it finds its “less ephemeral centre” in the rules and institutions which are shared by states and approaches the study of these rules and institutions in a manner at once philosophical and historical. Furthermore, against the cardboard lances of the ‘transnationalists’ it clutches a sturdy shield to the state, insisting that the state has been in the recent past and will remain for the foreseeable future, the principal “centre of initiative” in world politics. In short, this tradition consists in an overriding concern with the political theory and institutional history of the ‘states-system’.

Between Specters of War and Visions of Peace

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald M. Mara
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
First Century ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Frames Of Reference ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western Democracies

This book examines how ideas of war and peace have functioned as organizing frames of reference within the history of political theory. It interprets ten widely read figures in that history within five thematically focused chapters that pair (in order) Schmitt and Derrida, Aquinas and Machiavelli, Hobbes and Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche, and Thucydides and Plato. The book’s substantive argument is that attempts to establish either war or peace as dominant intellectual perspectives obscure too much of political life. The book argues for a style of political theory committed more to questioning than to closure. It challenges two powerful currents in contemporary political philosophy: the verdict that premodern or metaphysical texts cannot speak to modern and postmodern societies, and the insistence that all forms of political theory be some form of democratic theory. What is offered instead is a nontraditional defense of the tradition and a democratic justification for moving beyond democratic theory. Though the book avoids any attempt to show the immediate relevance of these interpretations to current politics, its impetus stems very much from the current political circumstances. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century , a series of wars has eroded confidence in the progressively peaceful character of international relations; citizens of the Western democracies are being warned repeatedly about the threats posed within a dangerous world. In this turbulent context, democratic citizens must think more critically about the actions their governments undertake. The texts interpreted here are valuable resources for such critical thinking.

Interlinking the Domestic with the International: Carl Schmitt on Democracy and International Relations

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPH BURCHARD
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Weimar Republic ◽  
Just War ◽  
State System ◽  
Carl Schmitt ◽  
The Political ◽  
Just War Tradition

Carl Schmitt's Der Nomos der Erde allows us to rethink his interlinked proposals for the organization of the Weimar Republic, namely his theory of ‘democratic dictatorship’ and the ‘concept of the political’. Connecting the domestic homogeneity of an empowered people with the pluralism of the Westphalian state system, Schmitt seeks to humanize war; he objects to the renaissance of the ‘just war’ tradition, which is premised on a discriminating concept of war. Schmitt's objections are valid today, yet their Eurocentric foundations are also partially outdated. We are thus to argue with Schmitt against Schmitt to reflect on possibilities for the humanization of war.

New and modern history of the Arab world

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rouben Karapetyan
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Modern History ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Oriental Studies

The textbook covers the main events and developments in the recent history of the Arab world. The key issues of the past and present of the major Arab countries are examined. The general patterns, main stages and peculiarities of the historical development of these countries are presented. The work is designed for students of the faculties of “Oriental Studies”, “History” and “International Relations”, as well as wide range of readers interested in the history of the Arab world.

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