War Crimes and Just War
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:12th Feb '07
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
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- Paperback£32.99(9780521691536)
Argues that war crimes are best understood as crimes against humanness rather than violations of justice.
May argues that the best way to understand war crimes is as crimes against humanness rather than as violations of justice. Throughout, May demonstrates that the principle of humanness is the cornerstone of international humanitarian law, and is itself the basis of the traditional principles of discrimination, necessity, and proportionality.Larry May argues that the best way to understand war crimes is as crimes against humanness rather than as violations of justice. He shows that in a deeply pluralistic world, we need to understand the rules of war as the collective responsibility of states that send their citizens into harm's way, as the embodiment of humanity, and as the chief way for soldiers to retain a sense of honour on the battlefield. Throughout, May demonstrates that the principle of humanness is the cornerstone of international humanitarian law, and is itself the basis of the traditional principles of discrimination, necessity, and proportionality. He draws extensively on the older Just War tradition to assess recent cases from the International Tribunal for Yugoslavia as well as examples of atrocities from the archives of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"...An excellent book—a pleasure to read, and one of the very few to consider searchingly the deepest moral and political roots of just war theory and the international laws of armed conflict. It offers a unique, refreshing, and important contribution to just war theory in its attempt to blend law with morality, and to revive a virtue ethics reading of the relevant principles. Whether one agrees with May’s approach or not, this is essential reading for anyone interested in the concepts of just war." -Brian Orend, Ethics and International Affairs
"Readers with philosophical or legal interest in [Just War] issues will not want to miss May's book, in which he offers much that is novel and more that is insightful." -Peter Tramel, West Point, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
"The book is well-written, thoughtful, and has been highly praised in academic circles...The authors approach to war crimes is to be commended." Fred L. Borch, Military History
"Larry May has produced a very serious tome that is logically organized, cogently written, deeply researched, and profoundly expressed...The work is especially important in this new world in which interstate war, or at least the threat of it, unfortunately seems to be making a comeback...should be required reading in both the classroom and the halls of power. Summing up: Essential." -M.D. Crosston, Clemson University, Choice
ISBN: 9780521871143
Dimensions: 235mm x 158mm x 25mm
Weight: 592g
358 pages