Ethics Of Warfare Research Articles

In Between Digital War and Peace

ABSTRACT The world can be divided into a digital sphere and a physical sphere. Within the realm of the physical sphere, Michael Walzer’s Just War Theory stands as a prominent framework for understanding the ethics of warfare. Is his theoretical framework also applicable to the digital sphere? This article studies whether elements of Walzer’s theory can be adapted to the context of digital conflict. Walzer divides countries into zones of peace, zones of war, and in-between zones. A country could then, for example, be a physical zone of peace but a digital zone of war. This article explores in which ways the defining characteristics of the different zones can be found in the digital sphere. It concludes that the digital sphere should mostly be seen as an in-between zone, with the problem of very unclear borders. Regarding Walzer’s theory, while it offers valuable insights when applied to the digital sphere, difficulties arise, underscoring the necessity for further research to refine the principles of just war within the digital sphere.

The Meaning of the Russian-Ukrainian War from the Perspective of Stefan Baley’s Intentionalism

The article is devoted to the search for the meaning of the Russian-Ukrainian war from the perspective of intentionalism of the Ukrainian philosopher Stefan Baley. This article attempts to actualise Baley’s intentionalist approach to war in the context of the philosophy of war, especially the ethics of warfare. The article analyses from a philosophical point Baley’s views on the meaning of war, attempts to find the meaning of the Russian-Ukrainian war by method of analogy, and formulates several inductive conclusions on the lessons from this war for the future. In conclusion, the article argues that the Russians’ justification of their armed invasion of Ukraine by a common history and the need for self-defense is hypocritical and self-deceptive. The article also suggests that such ‘morality’ of the Russians requires attention from the international community so that everyone in it does not mistake good for evil.

Exploring Hindu ethics of warfare: The Purāṇas

Abstract What rules of fighting (armed combat) does Hinduism espouse? The sacred texts are the pre-eminent sources, so these need to be summarized and compared to each other. Teaching mostly through stories, the texts describe deeds of people (especially warriors), gods and demons to show how to behave and not to behave in war. While the injunctions in the Mahābhārata and Arthaśāstra are already covered in the literature, including in this journal, this present work examines the Purāṇas in depth. After a thorough search of all relevant passages, we find the Purāṇas to be very similar to the epics in terms of the list of prescribed and proscribed actions in war that they provide. We also make comparisons to international humanitarian law (IHL); as in the epics, we find that the Purāṇas contain many similar provisions to those found in IHL but that they go above and beyond what is required by IHL in urging that fighting be fair at the tactical level (i.e., between individual fighters). Being religious texts, the Purāṇas also deal with the afterlife consequences of both righteous and unrighteous combat.

The Approach of Peace (Al-Salam) in the Ethics of Warfare in the Narrations (Qiraat)

The Approach of Peace (Al-Salam) in the Ethics of Warfare in the Narrations (Qiraat)

Intricate Link Between War and Human Nature

The paper explores crucial but often neglected aspects that contribute to the causes of war. While just war requires just causes and just practices in warfare and for that reason asserts the importance of right intention, the paper observes not only the neglect of this criterion but also the predomination of wrong intention like hatred, fear, greed, and lust in the ethics of warfare. The paper's engagement with the subversive side of human nature affirms an intricate link between human nature and war. It does so by examining the infiltration of the internal orientation in the writings of Thomas Hobbes, Aron Ralby, Sigmund Freud, St. Augustine, and Edmund Husserl. Crises in internal orientation thus inadvertently contribute to the causes of war.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ISLAMIC LAWS OF WAR AND IHL – POINTS OF CONVERGENCE FOR UNIVERSAL CONSENSUS ON LAWS OF WAR

In contemporary times, wars are not taking place in a legal vacuum. There are laws available on resorting to force and conduct of hostilities, including Islamic Laws of war and International Humanitarian Law (IHL). These legal regimes trace their origins in the teaching of elders that have further translated into rules and principles to limit the destructive nature of an armed conflict. Both systems are primarily concerned about regulating the behaviour of belligerents to avoid and at least minimize the sufferings of combatants and non-combatants in the theatre of war. This paper explores Islamic values and rules on the conduct of hostilities and compares them with similar provisions of IHL by using a comparative analysis approach. The objective of this study is not to judge Islamic Laws of war in contrast to IHL or vice versa but addresses the points of convergence. It analyses whether there is any significant difference between these two legal systems in observing principles and ethics of warfare, and provides a way out for humanization.
 
 Bibliography Entry
 Gardezi, Syed Mahmood Akhter Hussain. 2021. "Comparative Study of Islamic Laws of War and IHL – Points of Convergence for Universal Consensus on Laws of War." Margalla Papers 25 (1): 115-130.

“Wangdao” or “Badao”: Comparative Study of Ethics in the Art of War and On War

Is there some middle ground between “Wangdao” and “Badao”, which represents the ethics of benevolence or hegemony respectively? Are discussions not rigorous enough about the thought of “Wangdao” in China and the thought of “Badao” in the West? What are the warfare ethics in Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Clausewitz’s On War? Based on the comparison of warfare ethics, it is necessary to put forward a new idea about the “Wangdao” and “Badao”, which runs through the whole process of war, from the objectives to the operations. The masterpieces of the two great philosophers and strategists came out under the influence of different cultures, which reflect the typical characteristics of Chinese and Western ethical thoughts to some extent. By comparing the warfare ethics in The Art of War and On War, and referring to dialectics, this paper tries to analyze the spiritual traits of ethics of “Wangdao” and “Badao”, and find out the cultural backgrounds of their formation. Finally, there will be discussions about the contemporary values of the ethics and suggestions about their applications in the modern society.

Cognition, Human Evolution and the Possibilities for an Ethics of Warfare and Peace

African apes live in large stable social groups with an increased potential for conflict between individual agendas; a reasonable volume of evidence has suggested an instinctive and ethological basis for their intrasocial ethical behavior. Would there be some innate and ethological behavioral basis for ethics in human intersocietal relations, whether in war (providing the limits to the exercise of hard power), or in peace (establishing standards for preservation of intersocietal non-hostility)? As a hypothesis, we suggest that human exclusivity in the exercise of the ethics of warfare and peace is a product of the human transdominial cognition, capable of recombining and re-signifying innate behavioral algorithms through culture, applying them to absolutely innovative functions.

Employing Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems

The ethics of warfare and military leadership must pay attention to the rapidly increasing use of artificial intelligence and machines. Who is responsible for the decisions made by a machine? Do machines make decisions? May they make them? These issues are of particular interest in the context of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS). Are they autonomous or just automated? Do they violate the international humanitarian law which requires that humans must always be responsible for the use of lethal force and for the assessment that civilian casualties are proportionate to the military goals? The article analyses relevant documents, opinions, government positions, and commentaries using the methods of applied ethics. The main conceptual finding is that the definition of autonomy depends on what the one presenting it seeks to support. Those who want to use lethal autonomous weapon systems call them by another name, say, automated instead of autonomous. They impose standards on autonomy that machines do not meet, such as moral agency. Those who wish to ban the use of lethal autonomous weapon systems define them much less broadly and do not require them to do much more than to be a self-standing part of the causal chain.The article’s argument is that the question of responsibility is most naturally perceived by abandoning the most controversial philosophical considerations and simply stating that an individual or a group of people is always responsible for the creation of the equipment they produce and use. This does not mean that those who press the button, or their immediate superiors, are to blame. They are doing their jobs in a system. The ones responsible can probably be found in higher military leadership, in political decision-makers who dictate their goals, and, at least in democracies, in the citizens who have chosen their political decision-makers.

Capizzi, Joseph E. Politics, Justice, and War: Christian Governance and the Ethics of Warfare. Oxford Studies in Theological Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. 223 pp. $96.00 (cloth).

Capizzi, Joseph E. <i>Politics, Justice, and War: Christian Governance and the Ethics of Warfare</i>. Oxford Studies in Theological Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. 223 pp. $96.00 (cloth).

Islam and the Provisions of War

This article compares the provisions of war in Islam with the provisions contained in International Humanitarian Law (The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols). The aim is not to judge Islamic according to or vice versa, but rather, to discover similarities and differences between the two regulations in governing the conduct of war. The study uses a comparative approach, exploring the Islamic values of ethics and rules of conduct of war and then comparing them with similar provisions of international humanitarian law. This article also analyzes the possibility of synthesizing the two legal system. Having reviewed the topic thoroughly, this study concludes that, in principle, there is no difference between Islamic law and international humanitarian law in regulating procedures and ethics of warfare. Both of the legal system are equallyconcern to regulate the behaviour of warriors by limiting the use of force and minimizing the impact of the battles to civilians

Warfare, Ethics, Ethology

The aim of this article is to set a macro-historical narrative concerning the emergence of warfare and social ethics as symplesiomorphic features in the lineage of Homo sapiens. This means that these two behavioral aspects, representative of a very selected branch in the phylogenetic tree of the Primate order, are shared by the two lineages of great African apes that diverged from a common ancestor around six million years in the past, leading to extant humans and chimpanzees. Therefore, this article proposes an ethological understanding of warfare and social ethics, as both are innate to the social high-specialized modular mind present in the species of genera Pan and Homo. However behavioral restraints to intersocietal coalitionary violence seems to be an exclusive aspect of the transdominial modular cognition that characterizes modern humans. Thus, if in the evolutionary long duree, warfare and restrictions to intrasocial violence both appear to be ethologically common to humans and chimpanzees to a certain extent, an ethics of warfare - and, of course, the cognitive capability for intersocietal peace - seems to be distinctly human.

Politics, Justice, and War: Christian Governance and the Ethics of Warfare. By Joseph E. Capizzi

Politics, Justice, and War: Christian Governance and the Ethics of Warfare. By Joseph E. Capizzi

You, Me, and the Violence by Catherine Taylor

Reviewed by: You, Me, and the Violence by Catherine Taylor Erica Trabold Catherine Taylor. You, Me, and the Violence. Mad Creek Books, 2017. Long essays sometimes masquerade as small books—ideas made of enough words to necessitate spine and binding. Catherine Taylor's You, Me, and the Violence is one of these books, an essay to be sure, but one rich in complexity and contradiction, even if the entire volume can be read in a single sitting. Taylor considers the ethics of warfare through the dialogue of drone pilots and traditions of political puppetry. In this book, theory speaks to poetry, and puppets speak to soldiers. Sister speaks to brother, and writer speaks to reader. These connections are essential. "In the object of the puppet, we glimpse the subject of the human," Taylor writes. "In the object of the drone, we glimpse the subject of society." You, Me, and the Violence is chunked into short sections that never span more than half a page. These fragments work together to form a larger picture, placing seemingly dissimilar subjects next to each other to illuminate startling overlaps. The trajectory of Taylor's essay is further interrupted by two ongoing narratives: photographs of a reptilian puppet in motion and the conversation of drone pilots on a remote mission. I wish a book review could convey the emotional impact of odd puppet photographs or show the transcript of these pilots as Taylor has arranged it, like poetry on the page. Through each visual and metaphorical image, her essay actively seeks "forms to which feeling can attach itself." The experience of reading these images alongside Taylor's prose resists an expected structure. Often, I felt caught off guard when a turned page revealed not blocky paragraphs of text, but significant white space or a puppet, grinning or prostrate. Truly, You, Me, and the Violence moves in every sort of unconventional direction. In addition to observing the work of pilots and puppeteers, Taylor finds opportunities to engage in direct conversation with American military personnel. As part of the research process, she interviews her own brother, a drone pilot with considerable military experience and informed opinions of war. The interview between siblings represents Taylor's [End Page 58] own uncomfortable closeness to her subject. Exploding the binary of "right" or "wrong," "good" or "bad," Taylor's conversation with her brother challenges the reader's ethical assumptions, complicating any easy moral position. While this interview is certainly uncomfortable for the writer, the most uncomfortable series of events for the reader occurs in the pilots' dialogue. "I removed some sections and some words but I did not add or invent any language," Taylor writes, inviting the reader to consider the dialogue even more strange. At first, the pilots express uncertainty in the images their equipment has made available. Drone cameras, by design, obscure detail, making it hard to separate threat from bystander. Through a process of interpretation and debate, the pilots reach consensus and take action; the narrative of that action haunts the pages that follow. The drone cameras identify moving bodies. Early in the conversation, the pilots consider these to be the bodies of teenagers, potentially dangerous teenagers with guns slung across their chests. After drone intervention, however, the bodies are revealed as something else. Chaos and confusion intensify the action. The justification of drone warfare is questioned, if silently, by its very practitioners. Of the transcripts, Taylor remains close to the original sequence and central elements. "And then," she says, "I looked for something on the other side." This ability to analyze her subject from all angles, to pick up the heavy rock and spin it like a globe, is the most striking quality of Taylor's work. She is a writer unsatisfied by easy answers. Despite collective discomfort with violence, is it realistic to believe war will ever reach its end? Taylor's answer to this question changes because it has to. "At first, this book ended in despair," she writes in its most crucial turn. "But I made myself rewrite it." A hopeful tone infuses the final pages, and the scaffolding of puppet, drone, and human being is carefully stripped away. Taylor advocates for action...

Book Review: H. David Baer, Recovering Christian Realism: Just War Theory as a Political Ethic and Joseph E. Capizzi, Politics, Justice, and War: Christian Governance and the Ethics of Warfare

Book Review: H. David Baer, <i>Recovering Christian Realism: Just War Theory as a Political Ethic</i> and Joseph E. Capizzi, <i>Politics, Justice, and War: Christian Governance and the Ethics of Warfare</i>

Politics, Justice, and War: Christian Governance and the Ethics of Warfare. By Joseph E. Capizzi

Politics, Justice, and War: Christian Governance and the Ethics of Warfare. <i>By Joseph E. Capizzi</i>

An etiology of metaphors: toxic discourse and poetic form in Andrea Brady’s Wildfire

ABSTRACTAndrea Brady’s long poem Wildfire, begun in response to the second invasion of Iraq, explores the impact of the incendiary on living environments. In formally challenging ways, the poem expresses the reach of the military–industrial complex and its varied mediation in contemporary culture. Combining print and digital modes, Wildfire incorporates a vast range of resources and offers a long historical view on the ethics of warfare. Fundamental to this exploration are questions of scale, and how our distance from the effects of war – both in space and time – limits our understanding of its environmental impact. This essay argues that poetic experimentation is fundamentally a political act, one that uses the resources of language to create new readings of environmental threat for the twenty-first century.

Joseph E. Capizzi, Politics, Justice and War: Christian Governance and the Ethics of Warfare

Joseph E. Capizzi, <i>Politics, Justice and War: Christian Governance and the Ethics of Warfare</i>

The Ethical Implications of the Use of Private Military Force: Regulatable or Irreconcilable?

This paper attempts to present an examination of the ethical/normative ramifications involved with the growing use of private military and security companies, provide some original insight, and probe the question of the degree to which potential regulatory efforts can effectively address the nature of the moral concerns thereby raised. The implications examined focus mainly on relevant principles and concepts of the just war tradition and how they relate to the issue of state control over military action, as well as the ethical/political consequences of public accountability and democratic control over force. The paper concludes that the use of private military force is currently still inconsistent with well-established ethical norms to a significant degree, perhaps one that cannot be easily overcome through legal instruments without a corresponding shift in the ethics of warfare itself.

Ending wars well: order, justice, and conciliation in contemporary post-conflict

Though scholars of political science and moral philosophy have long analyzed the justifications for and against waging war as well as the ethics of warfare itself, the problem of ending wars has received less attention. In the first book to apply just war theory to this phase of conflict, Eric Patterson presents a three-part view of justice in end-of-war settings involving order, justice, and reconciliation. Patterson's case studies range from successful applications of jus post bellum, such as the U.S. Civil War or Kosovo, to challenges such as present-day Iraq.