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The cover of Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations

Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations

Michael Walzer

When is it right to go to war, and what limits does morality set on how a war is fought?

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At a glance

Author
Michael Walzer

Why read it

  • You will have clear questions to ask when judging whether a war is just
  • You will be able to answer someone who says morality has no place in war
  • You will think more clearly about wars with no clear front, such as fights against insurgents

Who it is for

  • A citizen who must judge a war without insider knowledge
  • A military officer or ethics student facing hard questions on force
  • A reader who wants moral tools for the news about wars

Contents

  1. Preface to the Fifth Edition
  2. Preface to the First Edition
  3. Part One: The Moral Reality of War
  4. The Realist Argument
  5. The Melian Dialogue
  6. Strategy and Morality
  7. Historical Relativism
  8. Three Accounts of Agincourt
  9. The Logic of War
  10. The Argument of Karl von Clausewitz
  11. The Limit of Consent
  12. The Tyranny of War
  13. General Sherman and the Burning of Atlanta
  14. The Case of Hitler’s Generals
  15. Two Sorts of Rules
  16. The War Convention
  17. The Example of Surrender
  18. Part Two: The Theory of Aggression
  19. The Rights of Political Communities
  20. The Case of Alsace-Lorraine
  21. The Legalist Paradigm
  22. Unavoidable Categories
  23. Karl Marx and the Franco-Prussian War
  24. The Argument for Appeasement
  25. Czechoslovakia and the Munich Principle
  26. Finland
  27. Preventive War and the Balance of Power
  28. The War of the Spanish Succession
  29. Pre-emptive Strikes
  30. The Six Day War
  31. Self-Determination and Self-Help
  32. Secession
  33. Civil War
  34. The American War in Vietnam
  35. Humanitarian Intervention
  36. Cuba, 1898, and Bangladesh, 1971
  37. Unconditional Surrender
  38. Justice in Settlements
  39. The Korean War
  40. Part Three: The War Convention
  41. Utility and Proportionality
  42. Human Rights
  43. Naked Soldiers
  44. The Nature of Necessity (1)
  45. Submarine Warfare: The Laconia Affair
  46. Double Effect
  47. Bombardment in Korea
  48. The Bombing of Occupied France and the Vemork Raid
  49. Coercion and Responsibility
  50. The Right to Leave
  51. Taking Aim and the Doctrine of Double Effect
  52. The British Blockade of Germany
  53. The Rights of Guerrilla Fighters
  54. The Rights of Civilian Supporters
  55. The American “Rules of Engagement” in Vietnam
  56. The Russian Populists, the IRA, and the Stern Gang
  57. The Vietcong Assassination Campaign
  58. Violence and Liberation
  59. The FFI Prisoners at Annecy
  60. The Problem of Peacetime Reprisals

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