Preemption: Military Action and Moral Justification: Military Action and Moral Justification

by Henry Shue

The dramatic declaration by U.S. President George W. Bush that, in light of the attacks on 9/11, the United States would henceforth be engaging in preemption against such enemies as terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction forced a wide-open debate about justifiable uses of military force. Opponents saw the declaration as a direct challenge to the consensus, which has formed since the ratification of the Charter of the United Nations, that armed force may be used only indefense. Supporters responded that in an age of terrorism defense could only mean preemption. This volume of all-new chapters provides the historical, legal, political, and philosophical perspective necessary to intelligent participation in the on-going debate, which is likely to last long beyondthe war in Iraq. Thorough defenses and critiques of the Bush doctrine are provided by the most authoritative writers on the subject from both sides of the Atlantic.Is a nation ever justified in attacking before it has been attacked? If so, under precisely what conditions? Does the possibility of terrorists with weapons of mass destruction force us to change our traditional views about what counts as defense? This book provides the most comprehensive assessment to date of the justifiability of preemptive or preventive military action. Its engaging debate, accompanied by an analytic Introduction, focuses probing criticism against the most persuasiveproponents of preemptive attack or preventive war, who then respond to these challenges and modify or extend their justifications. Authors of recent pivotal analyses, including historian Marc Trachtenberg, international relations professor Neta Crawford, law professor David Luban, and political philosopher Allen Buchanan, are confronted by other authoritative writers on the nature and justification of war more broadly, including historian Hew Strachan, international normative theorist Henry Shue, and philosophers David Rodin, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, and Suzanne Uniacke. The resulting lively and many-sided exchanges shedhistorical, legal, political, and philosophical light on a key policy question of our time. Going beyond the simple dichotomies of popular discussion the authors reflect on the nature of all warfare, the arguments for and against it, and the possibilities for the moral to constrain the military andthe political in the face of grave threat.This book is a project of the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War.

276 pages, Unknown Binding

First published November 1, 2007

Reviews

[Dave Beeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

In response to President George W. Bush's National Security Strategy of 2002 (NSS) which defined the Bush Doctrine of the right for the United States to conduct preemptive military operations against nation states and non-state sponsored groups in the defense of America the author has put together a series of essays on the theories behind this new strategy.. Is it truly a preemptive operation or is it preventative. Providing easy to read definitions you will learn the difference between preemptive and preventative, what are the legal rights to take such action, how just war theory fits in and provides some recommendations on how to determine what is actually taking place and the ethical and legal ramifications of the states actions.

A most interesting book.

[Ryō Nagafuji · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a set of very interesting essays on preemptive war, preventative war, and self-defense. I'm not a politics student or anything, but it was still easy enough to understand and take in with context, and the philosophical essays were delightful to read. The first and last chapter were a bit too drawn out, but it was still interesting enough to read. I would recommend to those interesting in ethics!

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the essays are quite good, especially the ones written by Hew Strachan, David Rodin and Neta Crawford. Others...not so much. The paperback edition suffers from poor editing.