Showing papers in "Journal of Military Ethics in 2006"
TL;DR: Character Psychology and Character Education as mentioned in this paper provides new perspectives on the nature of character and moral education by utilizing insights from the disciplines of moral psychology, moral philosophy, and education by drawing from personality and developmental research as well as educational and ethical theory.
Abstract: This collection of essays provides new perspectives on the nature of character and moral education by utilizing insights from the disciplines of moral psychology, moral philosophy, and education. The volume draws from personality and developmental research as well as educational and ethical theory. Character Psychology and Character Education distinguishes itself by bringing moral philosophers, who believe that ethical reflection about virtue and character must be tied to defensible notions of personality and selfhood, into dialogue with academic psychologists, who believe that the developmental study of the moral self requires adequate grounding in various psychological literatures. The first group embraces a "naturalized" ethics, while the second group favors a "psychologized" morality. Among the topics explored in this volume are the constructs of moral selfhood, personality, and identity, as well as defensible models of character education. One of the primary arguments of the volume is that problems of character education cannot be addressed until an adequate model of character psychology is developed. In addition to the excellent theoretical essays, this collection includes applied chapters that consider the challenge of character education in the context of schools, families, and organized sports. This book will be an invaluable resource both for scholars and practitioners in the fields of psychology and education.
114 citations
TL;DR: The authors assesses whether the 2003 invasion of Iraq can be justified as a humanitarian intervention, and concludes that there was no ongoing or imminent mass slaughter in Iraq in March 2003, and that this lack is decisive in undermining claims that the invasion was a moral intervention.
Abstract: This article assesses whether the 2003 invasion of Iraq can be justified as a humanitarian intervention. Because of the potential loss of life inherent in any military action, the author contends that a threshold test of a humanitarian intervention is whether it is necessary to stop ongoing or imminent mass slaughter. Although that test might have been met, say, at the time of the 1988 genocide against the Kurds, there was no ongoing or imminent mass slaughter in Iraq in March 2003. That lack is decisive in undermining claims that the invasion of Iraq was a humanitarian intervention. Apart from this threshold test, the author also considers several secondary factors: whether force was the last resort, whether the invasion was guided primarily by a humanitarian purpose, whether it was conducted with maximum respect for international human rights and humanitarian law, whether it was likely to produce more good than harm, and whether, ideally though not necessarily, it was endorsed by the UN Securit...
65 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the different moral and legal arguments used by protagonists in the debate about whether or not to conduct a humanitarian intervention in Darfur and conclude that for the cosmopolitan/counter-restrictionist case to prevail pivotal states need to put humanitarian emergencies on the global agenda and express a willingness to act without Council authorisation.
Abstract: This article explores the different moral and legal arguments used by protagonists in the debate about whether or not to conduct a humanitarian intervention in Darfur. The first section briefly outlines four moral and legal positions on whether there is (and should be) a right and/or duty of humanitarian intervention: communitarianism, restrictionist and counter-restrictionist legal positivism and liberal cosmopolitanism. The second section then provides an overview of the Security Council's debate about responding to Darfur's crisis, showing how its policy was influenced by both normative concerns and hard-nosed political calculations. The article concludes by asking what Darfur's case reveals about the legitimacy and likelihood of humanitarian intervention in such catastrophes and the role of the UN Security Council as the primary authorising body for the use of international force. The authors argue that this case demonstrates that for the cosmopolitan/counter-restrictionist case to prevail pivotal states need to put humanitarian emergencies on the global agenda and express a willingness to act without Council authorisation, though the question of how to proceed in cases where the Council is deadlocked remains vexed.
34 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors make three claims about preventive war, which is demarcated from preemptive war and is part of a broader class of "anticipatory" wars: it is far from clear that preventive war is absolutely prohibited in traditional Just War Theory, and it is also dubious that it is in all cases "clearly illegal".
Abstract: This essay makes three claims about preventive war, which is demarcated from preemptive war and is part of a broader class of ‘anticipatory’ wars. Anticipatory wars, but especially preventive war, are ‘hard cases’ for traditional Just War theory; other puzzles for this tradition include nuclear deterrence, humanitarian intervention, and provability a priori of the success of Tit-for-Tat. First, and despite strong assertions to the contrary, it is far from clear that preventive war is absolutely prohibited in traditional Just War Theory, and it is also dubious that it is in all cases ‘clearly illegal’. Second, the morality of both preemptive and preventive wars is shown to turn on epistemological considerations: on what degree and kind of justification the primary metaphysical facts of threat can be reasonably believed. Third, an argument is made that whatever epistemic threshold is held to be necessary, some preventive wars will exceed it, and that this is more likely with advancing technologies ...
34 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors use the Rwanda case to explore the issue of the use of force to protect unarmed civilians that have become the target of violence and emphasize the importance of sharpening moral autonomy among peacekeepers, in order to provide them with the skills they ne...
Abstract: Since the early 1990s, an increasing number of troops have been deployed in peacekeeping missions all around the world. The mixed success and high-profile failures of several missions have provided peacekeepers and scholars with a wealth of experience from which to generate knowledge and understand key lessons. In this article I use the Rwandan case to explore the issue of the use of force to protect unarmed civilians that have become the target of violence. In particular, I focus on the moral responsibilities implied in such operations. I contend that in order for peacekeepers to be effective, they need to subscribe to, and be motivated by a peacekeeper ethos. The core element of this ethos is the protection of human life. Those peacekeepers who, through experience and education, internalize this ethos will be the best prepared for the difficult task they face. This article emphasizes the importance of sharpening moral autonomy among peacekeepers, in order to provide them with the skills they ne...
23 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the arguments put forward in these two frames and their implications for international behaviour and law. But in 2002 and 2003, when US President George W. Bush identified the egregious abuses of human rights perpetrated by Saddam Hussein and his regime over a long history as one of the reasons for using military force to oust that regime, this humanitarian intervention argument fell flat.
Abstract: During the 1990s, particularly with reference to the context of the conflicts in Somalia, former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda, considerable sentiment favoring humanitarian intervention grew both in just war argument and in discussion of international law. This paper examines the arguments put forward in these two frames and their implications for international behaviour and law. But in 2002–2003, when US President Bush identified the egregious abuses of human rights perpetrated by Saddam Hussein and his regime over a long history as one of the reasons for using military force to oust that regime, this humanitarian intervention argument fell flat. Does this put in question the future of the idea of humanitarian intervention after the Iraq war of 2003? This paper argues that the experience of humanitarian intervention (or non-intervention) and its results during the 1990s must be taken together with the case of Iraq in thinking about the future of humanitarian intervention, and that this future may best ...
22 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors set out eight liberal principles that underlie humanitarian intervention, some of them abstract principles of international ethics and others more concrete principles that apply specifically to humanitarian intervention.
Abstract: When is humanitarian intervention legitimate and how should such interventions be conducted? This article sets out eight liberal principles that underlie humanitarian intervention, some of them abstract principles of international ethics and others more concrete principles that apply specifically to humanitarian intervention. It argues that whilst these principles do not determine the legitimacy of particular interventions, they should ‘incline’ our judgments towards approval or disapproval. The basic principles include the liberal idea that governments are the mere agents of the people, that tyrannical governments forfeit their legal protections, that human rights entail obligations for governments, that justifiable intervention must intend the end of tyranny or anarchy, that the doctrine of double-effect should be respected, that intervention is only warranted in severe cases, that intervention be welcomed by those it is intended to save, and that ideally it is welcomed by the community of demo...
21 citations
TL;DR: In the classical Greece of Thucydides, leaders generally chose to employ a combination of hope and reason as counter to fear rather than shame, anger, or spite.
Abstract: In the course of war, fear and terror are often used as weapons to distort the opponent's decision-making or break the opponent's will. Military and political leaders need to respond to this tactic. They have several options including the appeal to reason or the creation of emotions to counter fear. This article examines these options in two ways. First, it theoretically specifies five alternative strategies. Second, the article examines which of these strategies appears to be most prevalent in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War. In the classical Greece of Thucydides, leaders generally chose to employ a combination of hope and reason as counter to fear rather than shame, anger, or spite. As discussed in the conclusion, this finding provides several insights about the strategic use of emotion.
19 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the issue of moral engagement versus self-control is addressed for UN peacekeepers in the Congo, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Haiti, and Ivory Coast and Haiti are explicitly authorized to use force to protect civilians.
Abstract: Until the end of the twentieth century, UN peacekeepers were often prohibited from using force outside self-defense. With the genocides in Rwanda and Srebrenica in the back of their minds, UN officials have recently changed this policy. At present, peacekeepers in the Congo, Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast and Haiti are explicitly authorized to use force to protect civilians. The new policy is essential in preventing new debacles but it raises a number of ethical questions for peacekeepers. Should the peacekeeper concentrate on the protection of the individual if such protection jeopardizes the community or the mission? Should the peacekeeper solely think in terms of rights and duties, or should he or she also consider consequences? How to deal with the issue of moral engagement versus self-control? Peacekeepers need direction to answer these ethical questions. Unfortunately, conventional locations for finding ethical direction do not provide the guidance that peacekeepers seek. Consequently, peace...
17 citations
TL;DR: Humanitarian intervention is a staple of current discussions about relations among states as discussed by the authors, and the most extensive discussion of the right of strong states to intervene on a humanitarian basis occurred among sixteenth and seventeenth-century Spanish intellectuals who sought to justify the Spanish conquest of the Americas.
Abstract: Humanitarian intervention is a staple of current discussions about relations among states. Should powerful states interfere in the internal affairs of weaker ones, particularly those identified as failed states, in order to bring peace and stability when it is clear that the existing government can not do so? The concept is an old one, not a new one. European nations that engaged in overseas expansion generally justified their conquests on the grounds that they would seek to civilise and Christianise the peoples whom they encountered. The most extensive discussion of the right – or the responsibility – of strong states to intervene on a humanitarian basis occurred among sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spanish intellectuals who sought to justify the Spanish conquest of the Americas. The most famous of these figures was Francisco de Vitoria (1485–1546) whose De Indis outlined all of the arguments that could be raised for and against such intervention. His line of argument suggests that in the lo...
16 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that the real possibility of conflict between the two approaches, due to their disparity of focus, calls for a more careful reconciliation, and argue that conceiving military service as a practice in Alasdair...
Abstract: The military's purpose centrally includes fighting its nation's wars, serving as the nation's sword. The dominant approach to military ethics today, which I will call the ‘sword approach’, focuses on this purpose and builds an ethic out of the requirements the purpose imposes on soldiers. Yet recently philosophers such as Shannon French and Nancy Sherman have developed an alternative that I will call the ‘shield approach’, which focuses on articulating a warrior code as a moral shield that can safeguard soldiers’ humanity through the stresses and losses of war. Arguably, the sword approach is, if necessary, insufficient: the claims of the shield approach must be taken into account. It may seem that a military ethicist could simply employ both approaches in parallel. I will show, however, that the real possibility of conflict between the two approaches, due to their disparity of focus, calls for a more careful reconciliation. I will argue that conceiving military service as a practice in Alasdair ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors apply the logic of conflict analysis developed by Thucydides to the chaotic spasms and clashes triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union, and test the applicability of the notion in three distinctive settings: in a bipolar confrontation, in conflict manipulation by a third party, and in secessionist conflicts.
Abstract: Attempting to apply the logic of conflict analysis developed by Thucydides to the chaotic spasms and clashes triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union might appear inappropriate to many classical scholars, and entirely artificial to most Eurasian security experts. However, the two strategic landscapes, though separated by a period of some 2400 years, share a number of common features, and the ideas of the ancient strategic analyst may prove helpful for discovering structure in the chaotic violence of more recent times. The notion of the ‘strategic dilemma’—one that Thucydides never used but is credited with inventing—lies at the centre of this investigation, which seeks to test the applicability of the notion in three distinctive settings: in a bipolar confrontation; in conflict manipulation by a third party; and in secessionist conflicts. The article suggests that, as an instrument of political analysis, the security dilemma tends to overpredict conflicts and essentially comes out as a trap ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the extent to which Kant's thought might contribute to the moral deliberation of those individuals who a fortiori will be bound to jus in bello constraints.
Abstract: Kant is not typically considered a major figure in the just war tradition's canon, although his work has informed recent discussions about international justice and just war theory. More specifically, philosophers have suggested that Kant's work may provide a coherent, normatively practical just war theory, basing this claim, in the main, on his views on the goal of peace and its purpose of establishing a cosmopolitan civil society.1 Such discussions are mostly concerned with jus ad bellum and jus in bello constraints on nations and how Kant's writings can guide deliberation and, perhaps, the considered policy and practices of governments. Yet, the fact remains that it is embodied men and women and not the metaphysical ‘nation’ who actually conduct war. Hence, this paper seeks to determine the extent to which Kant's thought might contribute to the moral deliberation of those individuals who a fortiori will be bound to jus in bello constraints. To this end, the idea of moral learning will be explo...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that it is important to remind military leaders that their loyalties and subordination under civilian leaders are important to ensure that their professional military judgment causes them to think unwise or misguided.
Abstract: A perennial ethical issue for senior US military officers lies in the tension between their responsibility to cultivate and offer professional military advice, on the one hand, and their Constitutional subordination to civilian leaders who may or may not heed military advice. In some periods (e.g., the end of the Clinton Administration), the military's dissatisfaction with their civilian masters is great. In those moments, concerns are raised that the military may subvert the will of civilian leaders (probably in subtle ways). At other historical moments (some would argue the current war in Iraq is one such moment), the concern is the opposite: that the military's subordination to civilian leaders may lead them to acquiesce in policies that their professional military judgment causes them to think unwise or misguided. This paper articulates some constant standards to guide that debate. The authors argue that it is important to remind military leaders that their loyalties and subordination under t...
TL;DR: The hypothesis that democracies rarely fight each other is well-supported for the contemporary era as discussed by the authors, yet evidence for it in another era of many democracies (Greece in the fifth century BCE) is weak at best.
Abstract: The hypothesis that democracies rarely fight each other is well-supported for the contemporary era. Yet evidence for it in another era of many democracies—Greece in the fifth century BCE—is weak at best. This article considers several reasons why the experience of the two eras may differ. It shows that the causal reasoning of the contemporary democratic peace depends on key assumptions about how institutions constrain leaders that did not apply well in ancient polities. Analysis of these differences helps to clarify theoretical understanding of interstate relations in both eras.
TL;DR: The relationship between warmaking and the health of the city constitutes an important part of the Platonic corpus as mentioned in this paper, and the dialogue of Alcibiades I, considered in antiquity one of Plato's most important works, leads Socrates to agree that there ought to be a close link between justice and decisions about war.
Abstract: The problem of the relationship between warmaking and the health of the city constitutes an important part of the Platonic corpus. In the Platonic dialogue Alcibiades I, considered in antiquity one of Plato's most important works, Socrates leads Alcibiades to agree that there ought to be a close link between justice and decisions about war. In light of this, Alcibiades’ actual advice to the city regarding the Peace of Nicias, as portrayed by Thucydides in History of the Peloponnesian War, is put in stark relief within the dialogue. Plato's dialogue about Alcibiades can thus be seen as offering an alternative and morally critical account of how Alcibiades could have used his talents and rhetorical skills in addressing the city on the issue of war. More broadly, it reminds us of the difference between true statesmanship focused on the common good, and political or military rule engaged in for personal benefit or ambition.
TL;DR: In this article, a number of passages in Thucydides show that an affinity did exist among democratic factions and city-states in the context of hostile competition between democratic and oligarchic regimes, but did not seem to think them salient in city-state decisions of war and peace.
Abstract: Thucydides is an important author for any discussion of the possibilities for an ancient Greek democratic peace. Though democratic peace did not, in fact, seem to function in classical Greece, a number of passages in Thucydides show that an affinity did exist among democratic factions and city-states in the context of hostile competition between democratic and oligarchic regimes. Thucydides remarked on this competition and was aware of the inter-democratic affinities, but did not seem to think them salient in city-state decisions of war and peace. The failure of democratic peace to develop may relate to the environment of the Greek city-state, which privileged local interests over broader constitutional ideals.
TL;DR: In this paper, a deliberate dialogue is followed with direction and feedback through several steps of planning and approval that result in multiple people working on a product that results in a sort of corporate "buy-in".
Abstract: To ensure moral targeting decisions, national political leaders must accept the costs of monitoring in terms of time and money, and provide detailed direction, as well as oversight to ensure objectives are clear and subordinates carry out directions. Military officers must ensure that their motivations align with those of their principals, and they must ensure that constraining doctrine for planning and executing operations is followed. The process of aligning motivations with respect to desired outcomes, and the process of planning strategies according to doctrine together lead to moral targeting decisions. By following the processes of getting war plans approved according to published US doctrine, a deliberate dialogue is followed with direction and feedback through several steps of planning and approval that result in multiple people working on a product that results in a sort of corporate ‘buy-in’. Through case studies of Desert Storm (the first Gulf War), Operation Allied Force (NATO's war a...
TL;DR: For example, the authors analyzes the political, social, and moral psychological dynamics that produce aggression, violation, and exploitation of emotions during a crisis, and the role of effective leadership in countering this tendency.
Abstract: Thucydidean politicians recognize the difficulty posed by the uncertainties of the future in times of war, yet they differ sharply in their conclusions about how best to respond Thucydides’ analysis of the rhetoric of wartime decision-making focuses upon the deterioration of political culture under a major national crisis, as well as the role of effective leadership in countering this tendency The dilemma of Thucydidean politics is how to ensure a deliberative process that will not be taken captive by the pressures and emotions of war, and the demagogic leaders who seek to exploit such pressures and emotions for their own ends By studying the failures and successes of the past (as documented and analyzed in his History), decision-makers in the future can better understand the political dynamics of wartime decision-making and the corrosive forces that crises too often produce Thucydides’ narrative analyzes the political, social, and moral psychological dynamics that produce aggression, violenc
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TL;DR: Hobbes's view of Thucydides and his usefulness remained consistent throughout as discussed by the authors, showing that Hobbes valued the author for his ability to turn the auditor into a spectator, thereby protecting him, as far as possible, from the dangers of demagoguery.
Abstract: Commentators have found Hobbes's translation of Thucydides’ history puzzling. It was Hobbes's first publication and it preceded his earliest political treatise by more than a decade. Although towards the end of his life Hobbes himself claimed that he published it in order to warn his compatriots of the dangers of democracy and demagoguery, some commentators have dismissed his explanation as an attempt to tie it to his own political theory, in hindsight. Through an examination of Hobbes's preface and essay on the life and history of Thucydides, published alongside his translation, this paper shows that Hobbes's view of Thucydides and his usefulness remained consistent throughout. Siding with Plutarch, Hobbes valued Thucydides for his ability to turn the auditor into a spectator, thereby protecting him, as far as possible, from the dangers of demagoguery.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that "equality of innocence" serves a fundamental role within the intentions of internal justice at play for cooperative war-fighting teams that excel, and that no one is to be harmed unless his contributions to the warfighting team are not what they ought to be.
Abstract: In this paper, I wish to discover whether there is some mark or feature common to all of the warfighting cooperative virtues, playing an essential, identifiable role in the intentions presupposed by each. While the fundamental intention not to harm innocents constrains and informs external justice (jus in bello) in the moral craft of warfighting, a similar intention constrains and informs justice internal to warfighting organizations. As I shall argue, ‘equality of innocence’, understood as ‘no harm’, serves a fundamental role within the intentions of internal justice at play for cooperative warfighting teams that excel. By ‘equality of innocence’ understood as ‘no harm,’ which plays some role within any martial cooperative virtue, I mean this: no one is to be harmed unless his contributions to the warfighting team are not what they ought to be. ‘No harm’ is an implicit expectation of virtuous soldiers, and it must be a part of the implicit and explicit norms of any excellent warfighting organiza...
TL;DR: It is well that war is so horrible, we would grow too fond of it as discussed by the authors.Robert E. Lee, in the film Patton Men go to War, wrote: "God help me I do love it so. I love it more than my life."
Abstract: It is well that war is so horrible – we would grow too fond of it. Robert E. Lee I love it. God help me I do love it so. I love it more than my life. General Patton, in the film Patton Men go to wa...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe a method for teaching Thucydides to military officers in the context of professional military education which integrates military ethics using the "Great Books" method of classroom discussion.
Abstract: The author describes a method for teaching Thucydides to military officers in the context of professional military education which integrates military ethics. Using the ‘Great Books’ method of classroom discussion, the author's experience of teaching Thucydides for five years at the United States Army War College suggests that this is a highly effective method of exploring a wide range of topics in military ethics.