Recovering Christian Realism: Just War Theory as a Political Ethic by H. David Baer (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Recovering Christian Realism: Just War Theory as a Political Ethic by H. David Baer Maurice Lee Recovering Christian Realism: Just War Theory as a Political Ethic. By H. David Baer. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2014. viii + 119 pp. This slim volume seeks to articulate the political-theological reasoning underlying the classical just war ethic, drawing heavily (though not exclusively) on modern sources and using an irenically Lutheran perspective. The first chapter offers a framework for the project, briefly critiquing both the Niebuhrian “realist” position and Yoder/Hauerwas-style pacifism, and an overview of Baer’s argument. [End Page 76] The central chapters consider the series of classical just-war criteria derived from Aquinas, each raising issues addressed by the next. Chapter 2, “The criterion of legitimate authority,” uses a two-kingdom approach to identify the heart of the political act—that is, what a legitimate human government does—as judgment informed by love in the service of God’s kingdom, both establishing the locus of the authority to use power (force) and inviting ethical evaluation of the use of that power. Chapter 3, “The criterion of just cause,” finds, since political justice is relative to the particular interests of communities (nations) and their governments, and no actual government may rise above its particularity to render universal judgment, that force may be employed only for defense, with rare exceptions. Chapter 4, “The criterion of just intention,” explores the larger purpose of international relations—relations among political communities—identifying it as a peace harmonizing the various interests of a plurality of communities and consistent with the moral (not narrowly legal) “Law of Nations.” Chapter 5, “Justice in bello,” taking as a fundamental principle of ethical conduct in warfare the “principle of discrimination”— that is, the difference between combatants and civilians—reflects on the perpetual problems of proportionality and collateral damage. A final chapter accepts and defends the label “Christian realism” for the position that the author has outlined. Baer’s argument is accessible even without a specialist’s familiarity with just-war discussions. Some points might be puzzling for the beginner in the absence of other resources. For example, the distinction between ius ad bellum and ius in bello is not introduced before it is used. Moreover, the contours of the deeper theological vision animating “Christian realism” are not made clear. The author’s Lutheran allegiance and Luther himself are appealed to (not, to be sure, in an exclusive or partisan fashion), but why this should be particularly appropriate is not explained. Key terms like “kingdom of God” and “eschatology”—and, for that matter, “love”—are deployed but not developed. Baer maintains critical distance from the Christian pacifist tradition, interacting with it and its concerns very little. He does not apply the argument to messy, concrete instances of international conflict (as in Michael Walzer’s Just and Unjust Wars, 2006), except for a brief, fascinating reflection on the first Iraq war in Chapter 6. [End Page 77] All of these issues are easily explained by the book’s limited size and scope. In its purpose, laying out a theologically-grounded way to understand the unity and cogency of classical just-war thinking, given certain clear assumptions, this book is informative, insightful, and provocative. Maurice Lee Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Santa Barbara, California Copyright © 2016 Johns Hopkins University Press and Lutheran Quarterly, Inc.