Influenced in part by the writings of Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, Henri Jomini, and other strategists, most major militaries have adopted principles of war that are widely promulgated. Marvin Pokrant argues that these commonly accepted principles fail to reflect the ideas that led to them. Looking at the fundamental and enduring concepts behind the original principles of war, Pokrant presents nine new principles of war. To illustrate his points Pokrant uses numerous examples drawn from military history, including land, sea, and air warfare from ancient times to the present. By analyzing and reforming the principles of war, Pokrant provides a modern, relevant, and useful way to guide decisions made in times of war.
DIVThe most cited, most controversial, and most modern book on warfare. The author examines moral and psychological aspects of war: courage, audacity, self-sacrifice, the importance of morale and public opinion, more. /div
Most individuals realise 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 purpose? 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 UN Security Council in determining when long-term US 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 principle 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 judgements about war decisions. The book should 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.
Just War Theory is becoming increasingly important to nations when they contemplate and participate in war. This book recognizes the timeliness of the topic and so seeks, in concrete historical terms, to deal with the issue of constraining war on the basis of moral principles.
"This new work features the fresh thinking of thirty-one leading authors from a variety of military and national security disciplines ... The anthology is part of a larger Rethinking the Principles of War project, sponsored by the Office of Force Transformation and the U.S. Navy, to reexamine traditional and unorthodox approaches to the future of warfare"--Jacket.
