The Cambridge Handbook of the Just War

May, LarryLarry May is W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy, Law, and Political Science at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee. He has published over thirty books, including War Crimes and Just War (Cambridge, 2007), After War Ends (Cambridge, 2012), and Contingent Pacifism (Cambridge, 2015).

What makes a war just? What makes a specific weapon, strategy, or decision in war just? The tradition of Just War Theory has provided answers to these questions since at least 400 AD, yet each shift in the weapons and strategies of war poses significant challenges to Just War Theory. This book assembles renowned scholars from around the world to reflect on the most pressing problems and questions in Just War Theory, and engages with all three stages of war: jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and jus post bellum. Providing detailed historical context as well as addressing modern controversies and topics including drones, Islamic jihad, and humanitarian intervention, the volume will be highly important for students and scholars of the philosophy of war as well as for others interested in contemporary global military and ethical issues.

A comprehensive exploration of contemporary debates in Just War Theory, addressing moral, political, and legal issues.

Introduction Larry May; Part I. Historical Background: 1. Just War tradition in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages John Mark Mattox; 2. Grotius and the early modern tradition Johan Olsthoorn; Part II. Initiating a Just War: 3. State defense Yitzhak Benbaji; 4. Just cause Uwe Steinhoff; 5. The condition of last resort Suzanne Uniacke; 6. The moral problems of asymmetric war Steve Lee; Part III. Conducting a Just War: 7. Individual self-defense in war Lionel McPherson; 8. Distinction and civilian immunity Shannon French; 9. Proportionality and necessity in Bello Jovanna Davidovic; 10. Weighing civilian lives: domestic versus foreign Saba Bazargan-Forward; 11. Drone warfare and the principle of discrimination Eric Joseph Ritter; Part IV. Just War and International Legal Theory: 12. Jus ad Bellum Larry May; 13. The basic structure of Jus in Bello Jens David Ohlin; 14. Necessity and proportionality in international law Adil Haque; 15. Humanitarianism: neutrality, impartiality, and humanity Elizabeth Lanphier; 16. The challenge to the laws of war by Islamic Jihad Shannon Fyfe; Afterword Henry Shue.