Modern Just War Theory

A Guide to Research

By (author) Michael Farrell

Not available to order

Publication date:

20 June 2013

Length of book:

422 pages

Publisher

Scarecrow Press

ISBN-13: 9780810883451

Contributions to Illuminations: A Scarecrow Press Series of Guides to Research in Religion provide students and scholars, lay readers and clergy, with a road map to research in key areas of religious study. All commonly constructed with introductions to the topic and reviews of key thinkers, concepts, and events, each volume includes surveys of the primary and secondary sources, with critical evaluations of their places in the canon of thought and research on the topic. Focusing primarily on the knowledge required by today’s students and scholars, each guide is a must-have for any student of religion.

The twentieth century saw an explosion of wars and an accompanying explosion of literature on the morality of war. Thinking among Christian clerics and scholars on the idea of “just war” shifted with developments on the battlefield. Alternatives to just war theory, such as pacifism and realism, found new proponents in the published work of the neo-Anabaptists and Niebhurians. Meanwhile, proponents of Christian just war theory had to address challenges from competing ideologies as well as ththose presented by the changing nature of warfare.

Modern Just War Theory: A Guide to Research, by scholar and librarian Michael Farrell, serves as a manual for students and scholars studying Christian just war theory, helping them navigate the wealth of just war literature produced in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Farrell’s guide provides an introduction to the major developments of just war theory in the twentieth century, including sections on how to research just war theory, an overview of some of the most important theorists and developments of the twentieth century, and discussions of key search terms and related topics. Farrell then surveys and evaluates key primary and secondary sources for researchers on just war theory, as well as related sources on Christian realism and the responses of just war theorists to proponents of pacifism and secular just war theories.

Modern Just War Theory will appeal to students and scholars of theology, military history, international law, and Christian ethics
While theological concepts may be theoretical and abstract to most people, they occasionally deal with issues that touch upon the average person. One such topic is the Just War Theory as in Modern Just War Theory: A Guide to Research, written by scholar and librarian Michael Farrell as part of the Illuminations: Guides to Research in Religion series. This work will appeal to 'students and scholars of theology, military history, international law, and Christian ethics.' The book is solid and well done. Examples are provided and terms are clearly defined. Chapters include research on topics ranging from History to International Law to Realism to Pacifism to Non-Christian Religious traditions. From the early days of the Romans to the early days of Christianity, where this topic was systematically explored and developed by great scholars like Saint Augustine of Hippo in the City of God and Saint Thomas Aquinas, many scholars of have addressed 'the challenges from competing ideologies as well as these presented by the changing nature of warfare.' Most of the more influential literature was written by twentieth and twenty-first century authors and scholars. Farrell not only gives a brief overview of the theorists, but discusses the key terminology and surveys and evaluates key primary and secondary sources for researchers. This title will be a valuable addition to larger academic libraries.