Modern Just War Theory
A Guide to Research
Published on 20. June 2013
Book
Hardback
422 pages
978-0-8108-8344-4 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
Thomas Aquinas was the first to outline criteria for a "just war," and Christians as well as non-Christians have struggled with the concept ever since. Farrell, library director at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, launches this new research in religion series with an annotated bibliography of key clerical and lay works on this subject published between 1900 and 2012. Annotations are organized in sections covering the topic in general, in history, and with regard to particular wars (including the second Iraq war), international law, pacifism, realism, nuclear war and weapons, and more. An author/terms index is provided. VERDICT A catholic overview of an ongoing religious and ethical discussion. Recommended. * Library Journal * 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. * American Reference Books Annual *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Lanham, MD
United States
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
832 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8108-8344-4 (9780810883444)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2013
1st Edition
Scarecrow Press
€144.99
Available for download
Person
Michael Farrell is Library Director at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, in Oviedo, Florida, where he also teaches courses on theological research and writing. He has likewise taught courses on Christianity and war.