With the onset of Putin’s aggression against Ukraine, and subsequent implicit threats of a Russian nuclear strike against Ukraine or Western allies, the specter of “all-out war” has reemerged. The fear of nuclear war had largely dissipated since the end of the Cold War. Military conflict generally has taken place through small- and medium-sized wars [ Read More ]
In the twenty-first century, war has morphed into something historically unrecognizable. Our conflicts are qualitatively and quantitatively unlike those in the past. What’s more, war will morph even more in upcoming years. Today’s wars are more about cultural and religious animosity than enlargement of borders or rectification of injustice. Further, rapidly developing technologies have not [ Read More ]
There are few statements more mistaken than “all is fair in love and war.” The moral law applies in every context, including even on the battlefield. Thus, the just war tradition recognizes and affirms a moral symmetry between criteria for deciding whether or not to make war (“jus ad bellum”) and criteria for how to [ Read More ]