Ethics & International Affairs Volume 10 (1996): Articles: Notes on the Just War Theory: Whose Justice Which Wars? [Abstract]

Dec 4, 1996

Dr. Myers challenges the legitimacy of the traditional concept of the "just war," revived during the Vietnam War and with the publication of Michael Walzer's Just and Unjust Wars in 1977. The doctrine's major flaw, says Myers, is that it allows self-interested interpretation in a world of sovereign states - "Whose justice are we talking about?" he asks. Myers nonetheless validates the theory's intention and its utility in coping with war.

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