Rewriting the just war tradition: just war in classical Greek political thought and practice

O'Driscoll, C. (2015) Rewriting the just war tradition: just war in classical Greek political thought and practice. International Studies Quarterly, 59(1), pp. 1-10. (doi: 10.1111/isqu.12187)

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Abstract

The just war tradition is the predominant western framework for thinking about the ethics of contemporary war. Political and military leaders frequently invoke its venerable lineage to lend ballast to their arguments for or against particular wars. How we understand the history of just war matters, then, for it subtends how that discourse is deployed today. Conventional accounts of the just war trace its origins to the writings of Saint Augustine in the 4th century CE. This discounts the possibility that just war ideas were in circulation prior to this, in the classical world. This article contests this omission. It contends that ideas homologous to a range of core jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and jus post bellum principles were evident in classical Greek political thought and practice. This finding challenges scholars to re-consider not only the common view that the just war is, at root, a Christian tradition, but also the relation between victory and just war, the nature of the ties binding just war and Islamic jihad, and an innovative approach to the comparative ethics of war.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:O'Driscoll, Professor Cian
Authors: O'Driscoll, C.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
Journal Name:International Studies Quarterly
Publisher:Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
ISSN:0020-8833
ISSN (Online):1468-2478
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2015 International Studies Association
First Published:First published in International Studies Quarterly 59(1): 1-10
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
654441Moral Victories - Ethics, Exit Strategies and the Ending of WarsCian O'DriscollEconomic & Social Research Council (ESRC)ES/L013363/1SPS - POLITICS