Law and Sentiment in International Politics: Ethics, Emotions, and the Evolution of the Laws of War

International Law

Law and Sentiment in International Politics: Ethics, Emotions, and the Evolution of the Laws of War

By David Traven
Cambridge University Press March 2024

Specifications

ISBN-13
9781108949392
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publication
March 2024
Format
Paperback
Jurisdiction
U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Also available as

Hardback

Details

Drawing on recent research in moral psychology and neuroscience, this book argues that universal moral beliefs and emotions shaped the evolution of the laws of war, and in particular laws that protect civilians. It argues that civilian protection norms are not just a figment of the modern West, but that these norms were embryonic in earlier societies and civilizations, including Ancient China, early Islam, and medieval Europe. However, despite their ubiquity, this book argues that civilian protection rules are inherently fragile, and that their fragility lies not just in failures of compliance, but also in how moral emotions shaped the design of the law. The same beliefs and emotions that lead people to judge that it is wrong to intentionally target civilians can paradoxically constitute the basis for excusing states for incidental civilian casualties, or collateral damage. To make the laws of war work better for civilians, this book argues that we need to change how we think about the ethics of killing in war.

Table of Contents

Part I. A Theory of Moral Psychology and International Norms:
1. Introduction: the laws of war and the puzzle of norm emergence
2. Mapping the mind: moral psychology and international humanitarian law
Part II. The Universal Grammar of the Laws of War: China, Islam, and the West:
3. Taming the sovereign: state formation and the ethics of war in ancient China
4. War and peace in Islamic law: cultural evolution and the ethics of war in early Islam
5. Moral emotions and natural law: the peace of god, catholic just war theory, and the European enlightenment
Part III. Moral Sentiments and the Development of International Humanitarian Law:
6. Humanizing hell: the Hague peace conferences and the second world war, 1899-1945
7. A moral revolution in the history of humankind: the Geneva conventions and the politics of international humanitarian law, 1945-1977
8. Conclusion: moral emotions, permissive effects, and the rationalization of IHL
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