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Michael Walzer on War and Justice. By Brian Orend. Montreal: McGill-- Queen's University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-7735-2224-7. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. 226. $27.95 CN.
The publication of Just and Unjust Wars (1977) established Michael Walzer as the leading modern exponent of a tradition of just war theory that is deeply rooted in western culture through the works of such figures as St. Augustine and Hugo Grotius. Powerfully argued and engagingly written, Just and Unjust Wars commands respect and attention from philosophers and from those political leaders who are concerned about the moral implications of their diplomatic and military decisions. It is also a brilliant introduction to the subject, as I have found in teaching classes with students with backgrounds ranging from social workers to a police detective to a veteran of the Soviet army in Afghanistan. Walzer never fails to stimulate his readers.
Brian Orend, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, has provided the first book length assessment of Walzer's theory of wartime justice. It should serve as a valuable companion to Just...