Just War: Principles and Cases [Paperback]

Richard J. Regan (Author)

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Most individuals realize that we have a moral obligation to avoid the evils of war. But this realization raises a host of difficult questions when we, as responsible individuals, witness harrowing injustices such as "ethnic cleansing" in Bosnia or starvation in Somalia. With millions of lives at stake, is war ever justified? And, if so, for what purposes? In this book, Richard J. Regan confronts these controversial questions by first considering the basic principles of just-war theory and then applying those principles to historical and ongoing conflicts. Part One presents two opposing viewpoints: first, that war is not subject to moral norms and, second, that war is never morally permissible. The author rejects both perspectives, and moves to define the principles of just-war theory. He evaluates the roles of the president, Congress, and, most importantly, the U.N. Security Council in determining when long-term U.S. military involvement is justified. The moral limits of war conduct and the moral problem of using, or threatening to use, nuclear weapons are also discussed. On the just cause to wage war, Regan argues that defense of nations and nationals--whether in self-defense or in defense of others--remains the only classical cause that in the modern world would justify resorting to war. With respect to military intervention in secessionist and revolutionary wars, he contends that such intervention might be justified, but that prudence dictates extreme caution. In considering acceptable war conduct, Regan elaborates the specific principles of discrimination and proportionality; he maintains that civilians uninvolved in the enemy's war should not be directly targeted and that the costs of military action must be proportionate to the anticipated benefits of destroying military targets. The second part of the book presents case studies of eight historical wars--World War I, the Vietnam War, the Falklands War, the revolution and civil war in Nicaragua, the civil war in El Salvador, the Gulf War, the intervention in Somalia, and the Bosnian War--and poses several provocative questions about each. It invites readers and students to apply just-war principles to complex war-related situations and to understand the factual contingencies involved in moral judgments about war decisions. The book will be of particular interest to students of the moral issues of international relations and to readers interested more generally in philosophy, theology, and political science.

This book confronts a host of difficult questions about the controversial decision to go to war: Is war ever morally justified? Who has the authority to wage war? What is acceptable war conduct? Regan considers the basic principles of just war theory and then applies them to eight historical and ongoing wars, including the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the Bosnian War.

"The author brings just war doctrine to life in his realistic treatment of the moral dilemmas of war."-Prof. Emeritus William V. O'Brien, Georgetown University

Richard J. Regan, a Jesuit priest, attended Harvard Law School and received a doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago. He is a professor of political science at Fordham University and is the author of several books, including God and Creation, The Moral Dimensions of Politics, and Conflict and Consensus. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Catholic University of America Press (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813208564
• ISBN-13: 978-0813208565
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just War Doctrine for the new millennium, May 13, 2000

By 

Joseph P. Martino "TechnologyForecaster" (Sidney, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Just War: Principles and Cases (Paperback)

Just War Doctrine represents Western civilization's cumulative wisdom about what is and is not permissible in war. The Just War tradition can be traced back to Aristotle and Cicero, although early Christian thinkers were major contributors to the development of the Doctrine. Regan makes the point that Just War Doctrine is an exercise in practical reasoning. War is something people do; clearly not everything is permissible in war (e.g., atrocities); the statesman or the general must have some guidelines regarding what is and is not moral in war.

This rather slender book is a good introduction to the history and development of Just War Doctrine. It is a worthy successor to classic but now out-of-print books by OBrien, Walzer, and Johnson.

Regan begins by disposing of some critiques that would rule war out altogether: pacifism and Marxism. He then gives a brief history of the development of the Doctrine, from the writings of Augustine, Aquinas, Vittoria and Suarez.

He then devotes four chapters to explaining the Just War Doctrine on when it is legitimate to go to war, including declaration by legitimate authority, just causes for war, the legitimacy of intervention by third parties, and having the right intention when going to war.

The next chapter is devoted to what is just in war: the principles of proportionality and discrimination. Even a war justly entered may be fought unjustly, although as he points out, unjust conduct in war need not invalidate the original just cause for going to war.

The final chapter discusses the problems nuclear weapons pose for Just War Doctrine. Regan gives a history of nuclear "strategies:" countercity, counterforce, and countercontrol. He analyzes each from the Just War standpoing, giving reasoned evaluations of each.

Nearly the last half of the book is devoted to specific cases, ranging in time from World War I to the Bosnian war. These cases make the book extremely valuable as a text for a course on Just War. Regan not only provides a thumbnail history of each case, but includes a series of questions for discussion about each of the cases.

All in all this book is a good introduction to Just War Doctrine. It would be suitable as a text for a one-semester course. It also provides a good bibliography of current material for further research.

Dr. Joseph P. Martino is a retired Air Force Colonel, and is the author of A FIGHTING CHANCE: THE MORAL USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS (Ignatius Press, 1988).

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just War Analysis, November 18, 2006

By 

Severin Olson (Hyattsville, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Just War: Principles and Cases (Paperback)

Regan has divided this work into two sections. The first examines the idea of Just War itself; its history and development. We learn how attitudes toward morality in war changed from Ancient times to the present. The second half of the book covers actual wars, from WWI to the conflict in Bosnia. Each chapter here is followed by a set of questions about the conflict, leading the reader to think out his reasoning on the morality of the war.

I had first expected this to be full of anti-war rhetoric, likely written by a leftist professor now protesting the Iraq conflict. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Regan comes off as quite conservative, and not one out to condem America or the Western World. War, he makes clear, is justified if certain basic conditions are met.

The one big drawback here is that Regan fails to weave Just War theory and development into part two. Instead we are given a brief historical look at the wars in question. The reader would be better served if the author had shown how the Just War theory related to the action. What, for instance, did church leaders and others say at the time? What do they say about these matters now? A little reflection of this kind would have made the book a lot better.