
The Morality of the Laws of War
War, Law, and Murder
Marcela Prieto Rudolphy(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 26. May 2023
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-0-19-285547-3 (ISBN)
Description
Combatants are equal under the laws of armed conflict, regardless of whether the wars they fight are just or unjust, legal or illegal. They are permissible targets and can kill each other in battle. This basic feature of international law has been recently put into question by a group of moral philosophers known as revisionists, who argue that just combatants in an unjust war should be considered innocents, and their deaths considered murder.
Dr. Prieto Rudolphy explains and assesses the conflict between the revisionist argument and the existing legal norms in The Morality of the Laws of War: War, Law, and Murder. The book provides an in-depth assessment of modern ethical thought on killing in wartime, deconstructing the revisionist view of war and offering a new perspective on the legal equality of combatants.
Prieto Rudolphy not only examines the tension between the revisionist morality and the traditional thesis of symmetry between combatants but proposes a contingent justification of the latter and an alternative morality of war. Underlying both is the inescapable fact that regulating war is always a moral compromise. At the same time, she argues that there is urgent moral pressure to improve our laws - to bring them closer to an ideal whereby war does not exist. The Morality of the Laws of War is a must-read for scholars of moral philosophy and international law, from students to experts, providing a thorough account of contemporary debates on the ethics of warfare and using nuanced arguments to illuminate a fresh perspective.
Dr. Prieto Rudolphy explains and assesses the conflict between the revisionist argument and the existing legal norms in The Morality of the Laws of War: War, Law, and Murder. The book provides an in-depth assessment of modern ethical thought on killing in wartime, deconstructing the revisionist view of war and offering a new perspective on the legal equality of combatants.
Prieto Rudolphy not only examines the tension between the revisionist morality and the traditional thesis of symmetry between combatants but proposes a contingent justification of the latter and an alternative morality of war. Underlying both is the inescapable fact that regulating war is always a moral compromise. At the same time, she argues that there is urgent moral pressure to improve our laws - to bring them closer to an ideal whereby war does not exist. The Morality of the Laws of War is a must-read for scholars of moral philosophy and international law, from students to experts, providing a thorough account of contemporary debates on the ethics of warfare and using nuanced arguments to illuminate a fresh perspective.
Reviews / Votes
It is a book that needs to be studied... The writing is very accessible...as is true of many philosophical texts. * John Hutchins, Medicine, Conflict and Survival *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
636 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-285547-3 (9780192855473)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2023
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€88.49
Available for download

E-Book
05/2023
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€88.49
Available for download
Person
Marcela Prieto Rudolphy is assistant professor of law at the University of Southern California's Gould School of Law and Profesora Adjunta Extraordinaria en la Universidad Adolfo Ibanez, Escuela de Derecho.
Prieto graduated summa cum laude from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. In 2020, she obtained her JSD degree from New York University. Her dissertation won the 2021 NYU University-Wide Outstanding Dissertation Award in Social Sciences.
From 2012-2014, Prieto worked at the Chilean Ministry of Interior prosecuting crimes against humanity committed during Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship.
She is co-editor in chief of the Spanish issue of the International Journal of Constitutional Law.
Prieto graduated summa cum laude from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. In 2020, she obtained her JSD degree from New York University. Her dissertation won the 2021 NYU University-Wide Outstanding Dissertation Award in Social Sciences.
From 2012-2014, Prieto worked at the Chilean Ministry of Interior prosecuting crimes against humanity committed during Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship.
She is co-editor in chief of the Spanish issue of the International Journal of Constitutional Law.
Author
Assistant Professor of LawAssistant Professor of Law, Gould School of Law, University of Southern California
Content
1: Introduction
Part I. The revisionist morality and the laws of war
2: Combatants and the privilege to kill
3: Regulating murder: instrumentalism and the revisionist morality
Part II. Attenuating instrumentalism and the revisionist morality
4: Non-instrumentalism and the revisionist morality
5: Just wars, just combatants, just killings?
6: The non-liability of unjust combatants
7: Beyond self-defense
8: Unjust combatants
Conclusion: the peace that was promised
Part I. The revisionist morality and the laws of war
2: Combatants and the privilege to kill
3: Regulating murder: instrumentalism and the revisionist morality
Part II. Attenuating instrumentalism and the revisionist morality
4: Non-instrumentalism and the revisionist morality
5: Just wars, just combatants, just killings?
6: The non-liability of unjust combatants
7: Beyond self-defense
8: Unjust combatants
Conclusion: the peace that was promised