This issue includes essays by Nicholas Chan on the bottom-up architecture of the Paris climate change agreement, Jens Bartelson on the history of recognition, and Karin Aggestam and Annika Bergman-Rosamond on Swedish feminist foreign policy; features by Luke Glanville on self-interest and the distant vulnerable, and by Silje Aambø Langvatn on the use of public reason in international courts; a review essay by James K. Galbraith on ethics and inequality; a response by Ryan Jenkins and Duncan Purves to Robert Sparrow's article on autonomous weapon systems (EIA 30.1), with a rejoinder by Robert Sparrow; and book reviews by Michael C. Williams and Jonathan Morduch.
ESSAYS
Climate Contributions and the Paris Agreement: Fairness and Equity in a Bottom-Up Architecture
Nicholas Chan
The Paris Agreement provides a different answer to the question of what constitutes a fair and equitable response to climate change by providing a bottom-up structure that reorients the international regime, emphasizing national flexibility in order to ensure broader participation.
Recognition: A Short History
Jens Bartelson
The concept of recognition carries the burden of explaining not only how the current international system came into being but also how an international society of nominally equal actors emerged. This essay traces the history and importance of the concept through to the modern day.
Swedish Feminist Foreign Policy in the Making: Ethics, Politics, and Gender
Karin Aggestam and Annika Bergman-Rosamond
In 2015 Sweden became the first state ever to publicly adopt a feminist foreign policy. This essay examines and highlights some of the substance and plausible future directions of feminist foreign policy on the world stage.
FEATURES
Self-Interest and the Distant Vulnerable
Luke Glanville
What interests do states have in assisting and protecting vulnerable populations beyond their borders? Today, confronted as we are with civil wars, mass atrocities, and humanitarian catastrophes, this question is as urgent as it has ever been.
Should International Courts Use Public Reason?
Silje Aambø Langvatn
The question of whether public reason is an appropriate ideal for international courts has occupied scholars for decades. This article proposes an ideal of public reason for international courts that provides guidelines and principles to limit the discretion of judges when reasoning about morally and politically contentious issues.
REVIEW ESSAY
Ethics and Inequality: A Strategic and Practical View
James K. Galbraith
There is a strong correlation between measures of wellbeing and economic income, but the reasons for this are less clear. This essay examines recent books by Angus Deaton and Anthony B. Atkinson on the nature and ethics of inequality.
RESPONSE
Robots and Respect: A Response to Robert Sparrow
Ryan Jenkins and Duncan Purves
This reply to Robert Sparrow's recent article in Ethics & International Affairs argues that the distinction between autonomous weapon systems (AWS) and widely accepted weapons is illusory, and therefore cannot ground a moral difference between AWS and existing methods of waging war.
Robots as "Evil Means"? A Rejoinder to Jenkins and Purves
Robert Sparrow
Sparrow responds to his critics, arguing that many of the objections they make to his article ultimately stem from a deeper disagreement about the usefulness of the concept of mala in se with regard to weapons of war.
REVIEWS
Realpolitik: A History
John Bew
Review by Michael C. Williams
Realpolitik is back—or if not back, at least enjoying a day in the sun more fully than it has for several decades. Chastened by the "return" of history in the new millennium, politicians, policymakers, and commentators now routinely acknowledge the value of a little more realpolitik in foreign affairs.
Can Microfinance Work? How to Improve Its Ethical Balance and Effectivenes
Lesley Sherratt
Review by Jonathan Morduch
Microfinance has had a terrible decade. The pursuit of profit led a few high-profile institutions to raise their interest rates so high that the distinction blurs between their version of microfinance and what others dismiss as rapacious moneylending. Lesley Sherratt argues that proponents of microfinance need to learn humility.
A short review of Matthew A. Baum and Philip B. K. Potter's new book War and Democratic Constraint: How the Public Influences Foreign Policy.
