Global Ethics and Religion Forum

www.GERForum.org

 

Revising Just War Theory for the 21st Century

 

 

The Forum is in the second year of a five year project to develop a revised Just War Theory for the 21st century. This revision of Just War Theory is intended to produce an ethics of war that explicitly addresses new issues which have risen to prominence at the start of the 21st century, particularly international terrorism, humanitarian intervention, the use of child soldiers, the use of torture, and the employment of private military companies. The project will focus on ethics but will incorporate relevant historical, legal, political and cultural analysis, involving prominent ethicists, international lawyers, experts in international relations, experts in public policy, and scholars of the world religions.

 

One dimension of this project, which sets it apart from most analyses of the legal and ethical issues involved in Just War Theory, will be a close attention to the contribution which the world’s religious traditions can make to understand the ethical dimensions of just warfare.  If Just War Theory is going to succeed as a global ethic, then the major cultural and religious traditions of the world will need to have a sense that they can “buy into” the ethic.  Additionally, the world religions can function as motivational support for adherence to the ethics of Just War Theory as a foundational aspect of successful conflict resolution and Just Peace. 

 

This proposed revision of Just War Theory is not only the next logical step forward in the contemporary academic discussion of the ethics of war, but is also intended as an important tool for policy makers. The objective of this project is to develop a revised version of classic Just War Theory that is appropriate to the context in which we find ourselves in the 21st century. 

 

 

 

Director: Joseph Runzo, Executive Director, Global Ethics and Religion Forum

Associate Directors:

Heinz-Gerhard Justenhoven, Director, Institut fur Theologie und Frieden, Hamburg, Germany

Asa Kasher, Vice President, Jerusalem Centre of Ethics; Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Tel Aviv University, Israel; Co-founder, Journal of Military Ethics; Editor, Philosophia

Philip Towle, Reader in International Studies and Former Director, Centre for International Studies, University of Cambridge, England

 


Project Events:

 

w       Initial Consultation
Joseph Runzo, Executive Director, Global Ethics and Religion Forum;

Asa Kasher, Tel Aviv University; Philip Towle, Cambridge University;

Elliot Dorff, University of Judaism; Robin Wang, Loyola Marymount University; Nathan Tierney, California Lutheran University
Southern California, April 8, 2006

 

w  Canada 3-day Symposium on "Religion and War"

      Global Congress on "The World's Religions After 9/11"

September 11-15, 2006, Montreal, Canada

 

w  Washington, D.C. AAR Symposium on "Just War for a Just Peace: Religious Contributions to Revising Just War Theory"

American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting
November 18-21, 2006, Washington, D.C.

 

w  Cambridge University Symposium on “Revising Just War Theory for the 21st Century”

Director: Joseph Runzo

November 22, 2006, Clare Hall, Cambridge University

 

w  Israel Symposium on “Military Ethics”

Sponsors: International Association for Military Pedagogy and the Jerusalem Centre for Ethics

Director: Asa Kasher

June 4-7, 2007, Jerusalem Centre for Ethics, Israel

 

w  Mexico Pre-Parliament of the World’s Religions Symposia on “Religion and

Armed Conflict”

Director: Joseph Runzo

September 21-26, 2007, Monterrey, Mexico

 

w  San Diego AAR Symposium on “Religious Perspectives on Military Humanitarian Intervention”

Director: Nancy M. Martin, Chapman University

American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting

November 17, 2007, San Diego, California

 

w  Hamburg Conference on “Hermeneutics of the Just War Tradition”

                        Co-sponsor: Institut fur Theologie und Frieden

Director: Heinz-Gerhard Justenhoven

January, 2009

 

w  Proposed Volume in Collaboration with ITHF

The History and Future of Just War Theory

1.Augustine’s Theology of Peace and the Beginning of Christian Just War Theory

            2. Thomas Aquinas’ bellum iustum

3. Francisco de Vitoria: Just War as the Defense of International Law

            4. Martin Luther on Peace and War

            5. Peace Ethics of Francisco Suarez

6. Hugo Grotius: Just War Thinking Between Theology and International Law

            7. Immanuel Kant as a Resource for Future Just War Theory

            8. New Directions in Just War Theory

9. Just War Theory and Terrorism

10. Just War Theory and Humanitarian Intervention

11. Post bellum treaties

12. Addressing Asian Traditions of Just War

11. Restorative Justice

 

w  University of Lund Conference, “Human Rights and Just War”

Director: Dan-Erik Andersson, Summer 2009

 

 

w  Netherlands Proposed Conference on “African Traditions, Just War Theory,

and Reconciliation”

Director: Gerrie ter Haar

Fall 2009, Institute for Social Sciences, The Hague

 

w       Melbourne, Australia: Parliament of the World’s Religions Symposium on “Religion, War and Justice”

Directors: Seamus Miller, Joseph Runzo, Nathan Tierney and Pal Ahluwalia
            December 2009

 

w  Cambridge University Proposed Conference in conjunction with the Von Hugel Institute and the Religion and Ethics in War and Peace Making Programme, St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge University

Directors: Joseph Runzo, George Wilkes, David Clark, Philip Towle
            Spring 2010, St Edmund’s College and Clare Hall

 

w  Israel: Sea of Galilee Proposed Conference on “Religion, War and Peace”

                        Sponsors: German Government, U.S. Institute of Peace ?

Summer 2010

Director: Gerhard Beestermoeller

Pilgerhaus Tabgha, The German Association of the Holy Land

 

w  U.S.A. Proposed Conference on "A Just War Theory for the 21st Century"

Directors: Joseph Runzo and Philip Rossi, S.J.
            Fall 2010, Marquette University

 

 

 


Project Consultants:

 

Pal Ahluwalia (Just War Theory; Political Theory; Sikhism) Pro Vice Chancellor and Research SA Chair and Professor of Post Colonial Studies, Centre for Post Colonial Studies, the Hawke Research Institute for Sustainable Societies, University of South Australia; Professor of Political Science, University of California, San Diego, U.S.A. and Australia

 

Dr. Deane-Peter Baker (Religion and War; Private Military Companies) Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

 

Dr. Gerhard Beestermoeller (History of Just War Theory; Christianity and Peace Studies; Terrorism; Torture) Deputy Director, Institut fur Theologie und Frieden, Hamburg, Germany

 

Dr. Torkel Brekke, (Just War Theory in Asian Traditions, Hinduism), University of Oslo, Norway

 

Dr. Drew Christiansen, S.J. (Justice and Peace; Ethics and International Affairs) Editor-in-Chief, America magazine, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

 

Rev. Dr. David L. C. Clark (Theology) Chair, Von Hugel Institute, St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge University, U.K.

 

*Dr. Martin L. Cook (Military Ethics) Professor of Philosophy, Deputy Department Head at the United States Air Force Academy, U.S.A.

 

Rabbi Dr. Elliot Dorff (Ethics and Judaism) Professor of Philosophy, American Jewish University, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

 

Prof. John Doyle (Francisco de Vitoria: Just War Theory and International Law) St. Louis University, U.S.A.

 

Colonel Paul Georg Ertl (Military Ethics; Private Military Companies) National Defense Academy, Vienna, Austria

 

Dr. Richard Friman (Political Science; Human Rights) Professor of Political Science, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

 

*Dr. Lily Gardner-Feldman (Reconciliation) American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, The Johns Hopkins University

 

Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, JD (International Human Rights Law) Legal Advisor, International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, Switzerland

 

Prof . Dr. Ludwig Grasmück (Augustine; Origins of Just War Theory) University of Bamberg, Germany         

 

*Colonel Anthony E. Hartle (Military Ethics) Professor of Philosophy, Chair, English Department, United States Military Academy, West Point, U.S.A.

 

Dr. Brian Hebblethwaite (Christian Ethics) Emeritus, Queen’s College, Cambridge University, U.K.

 

Commander Vilehlm S. Holsting (Military Ethics; Ethics of Military Occupation) Royal Danish Defense College, Copenhagen, Denmark

 

Rev. Dr. Colin Honey (Applied Ethics) Director, Lonsdale Centre for Applied Ethics, Melbourne Australia; Von Hugel Institute, St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge University, U.K., Australia

 

Dr. Heinz-Gerhard Justenhoven (History of Just War Theory; Christianity and Peace Studies) Director, Institut fur Theologie und Frieden, Hamburg, Germany

 

*Dr. Muhammad Kalisch (Islamic Theology: Jihad) Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Muenster, Germany

 

Dr. Roland Kany, (Augustine and Just War theory), Universitat Munchen, Germany

 

Dr. Asa Kasher (Just War Theory; Military Ethics; Ethics of Combating Terrorism) Vice President, Jerusalem Centre for Ethics, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Tel Aviv University; co-founder, Journal of Military Ethics; editor, Philosophia; Israel Prize Laureate, Israel

 

Dr. Robert G. Kennedy, (Thomas Aquinas and Just War Theory) University of Saint Thomas, U.S.A.

 

Dr. Markus Kremer, (Francisco Suárez; History of Just War Theory) Croetwiller, France

 

Dr. Brian Lepard (International Law; Humanitarian Intervention; Baha’i) Professor of Law, University of Nebraska, Nebraska, U.S.A.

 

Dr. David Little (Human Rights, Religion and International Affairs) T. J. Dermot Dunphy Visiting Professor of the Practice in Religion, Ethnicity, and International Conflict and Faculty Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard Divinity School, U.S.A.

 

Frank G. Madsen, M.A. (International Criminal Law) Former head of criminal investigation for Interpol; Fellow Queens’ College; Member, Von Hugel Institute, St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge University, U.K.

 

Lt. Colonel Juha Makinen (Military Ethics) Finnish National Defense University, Helsinki, Finland

 

Colonel Gavril Malos (Military Ethics) Professor, National Defense University, Bucharest, Romania

 

*Dr. Paulin Manwelo S.J. (International Law) Catholic University of East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

 

Dr. Thomas Mertens, (Kant and Just War Theory) Universität Leiden, Netherlands

 

Dr. Seamus Miller (Just War Theory; Police Ethics) Director, Center for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics; Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

 

Prof. Dr. James Muldoon, (Francisco de Vitoria: Just War Theory and International Law) Rutgers University, U.S.A.

 

Dr. James B. Murphy, (Francisco Suarez and Just War Theory), Dartmouth College, U.S.A.

 

Dr. Mutombo Nkulu-N’sengha, (Just War; Social Justice; Dictatorship)  Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, California State University, Northridge, U.S.A.

 

Dr. Irfan Omar (Islam and Peace; World Religions; Islam in Asia) Assistant Professor of Theology, Marquette University, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

 

Dr. William O’Neill, S.J. (Human Rights; Comparative Religious Ethics; Africa) Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley, California, U.S.A.

 

*Brian Orend (Just War Theory), Director of International Studies and Professor of Philosophy, University of Waterloo, Canada

 

Prof. Dr. Anthony Pagden (Just War Theory and International Law) University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A.

 

Dr. Franklin Perkins (Chinese Thought and War) Depaul University, U.S.A.

 

Colonel Dietmar Pfarr (Military Ethics; Changing Military Role in Peacekeeping and Conflict Resolution) National Defense Academy, Vienna, Austria

 

Dr. Kathryn Poethig (Feminism and Militarism) Assistant Professor of Religious Studies. California State University, Monterey Bay, California, U.S.A.

 

Dr. Gerard Powers (Just War Theory; Religion and Humanitarian Intervention) Joan Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, U.S.A.

 

Captain Antti-Tuomas Pulkka (Military Ethics) Finnish National Defense University, Helsinki, Finland

 

Lt. Colonel Ronen Refael (Military Ethics; Ethics of Combating Terrorism) IDF Tactical Command College, Tel Aviv, Israel

 

Geoffery Robertson QC (International Human Rights Law) Master of the Middle Temple, Founder and Head of Doughty Street Chambers, and Visiting Professor in Human Rights, Queen Mary College, University of  London, U.K.

 

Dr. Philip J. Rossi, S.J. (Christianity and Justice; Post-bellum Justice) Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Theology, Marquette University, Wisconsin; Trustee, Creighton University, Nebraska, U.S.A.

 

Dr. Joseph Runzo (Ethics of War; Human Rights; Comparative World Religions) Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Chapman University; Life member, Clare Hall, Cambridge University; Executive Director, Global Ethics and Religion Forum, California, U.S.A.

 

Captain Michael Salo (Military Ethics) Finnish National Defense University, Helsinki, Finland

 

Dr. Deborah Sanders (Just War Theory; Military Ethics) Senior Lecturer, Defense Studies Department, King’s College, London; Joint Services Command and Staff College, Swindon, U.K.

 

Dr. Perry Schmidt-Leukel (Buddhism; Peace) Director, Centre for Inter-Faith Studies; Chair, World Religions for Peace, University of Glasgow, Scotland

 

Dr. Arvind Sharma (Hinduism and World Religions) Birks Professor of Comparative Religion McGill University, Montreal, Canada

 

Lt. Colonel Harold Alexander Simpson (Military Ethics) U.K. Army Education and Training Branch/Joint Services Advanced Command and Staff College, Swindon, U.K.

 

PD Dr. Volker Stümke, (Luther, History of Just War Theory), Universitat Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.

 

Dr. Gerrie ter Haar (Human Rights; Religion and Politics, Africa) Professor of Human Rights, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands

 

Dr. Nathan Tierney (Restorative Justice; Ethics) Professor of Philosophy California Lutheran University, California, U.S.A.

 

Dr. Philip Towle (International Relations; International Treaties; Just War Theory) Reader and Founding Director, Centre of International Studies, Cambridge University, U.K.

 

*Dr. Hans Waldenfels, S.J. Professor of Fundamental Theology and Religious Philosophy, University of Bonn, Germany

 

Dr. Robin Wang (Taoism and Confucianism) Associate Professor of Philosophy, Director, Asian Studies Program, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, U.S.A.

 

*Prof. Dr. Michael Walzer, (Just War Theory) Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, U.S.A.

 

*Prof. Dr. Michael Walzer, (Just War Theory) Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, U.S.A.

 

Dr. George R. Wilkes (Ethics of war and peace-making in Jewish religious, legal and political contexts) Founding Director, Religion and Ethics in War and Peace Making Programme; Fellow St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge University, U.K.

 

Dr. Xinzhong Yao (Confucianism; War) Professor of Confucianism, University of Wales, Lampeter, Wales

 

*Dr. Onuma Yasuaki (International Law and War Crimes) Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo, Japan

 

Dr. Katherine K. Young (Hinduism; Ethics) Professor of Religious Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Canada