Ethics & International Affairs is pleased to announce the publication of its spring 2014 issue.
This issue is free online for a limited time!
It features a policy brief by Michael W. Doyle and Joseph E. Stiglitz on eliminating extreme inequality worldwide; essays by Amartya Sen on Buddha as a political thinker and George R. Lucas, Jr. on secrecy, privacy, and Edward Snowden; a special Centennial roundtable on the international rule of law, with contributions from Ian Hurd, David Dyzenhaus, Christian Reus-Smit, Rosa Brooks, and Ruti Teitel; a feature article by Toni Erskine on "Coalitions of the Willing and Responsibilities to Protect"; and book reviews by Alan Wolfe, Andrew A. G. Ross, and George Crowder.
POLICY BRIEF [Full Text]
Eliminating Extreme Inequality: A Sustainable Development Goal, 2015–2030 Michael W. Doyle and Joseph E. Stiglitz Sustainable development cannot be achieved while ignoring extreme disparities. It is imperative that the post-MDG agenda focus on inequality.
ESSAYS
The Contemporary Relevance of Buddha Amartya Sen There is a basic humanity in the story of Buddha's life that is easy to access and absorb in our own lives.
NSA Management Directive #424: Secrecy and Privacy in the Aftermath of Edward Snowden George R. Lucas, Jr. In order to be morally justifiable, any strategy or policy involving the body politic must be one to which it would voluntarily assent when fully informed about it.
ROUNDTABLE: THE INTERNATIONAL RULE OF LAW The International Rule of Law: Law and the Limit of Politics Ian Hurd The international rule of law provides political resources with which states and other actors legitimize and delegitimize contending policies. The atomistic nature of the interstate system means that the international version of the concept cannot be modeled on the domestic one, but also that it cannot be reduced simply to the obligation on states to comply with their legal commitments. Hobbes on the International Rule of Law David Dyzenhaus The practice of state compliance with international law is not that easily demonstrated to be the product of legal constraint. Indeed, the problem goes beyond international law since the practice whereby a state generally complies with its own domestic law is hardly different in this respect. International Law and the Mediation of Culture Christian Reus-Smit This essay advances an alternative perspective on culture and international law. After exploring in greater detail determinist accounts of this relationship, Reus-Smit reverses the typically assumed causal pathway between culture and law, presenting international law as a mediating social institution, one that structures global cultural interaction and negotiation. Drones and the International Rule of Law Rosa Brooks U.S. drone strikes represent a significant challenge to the international rule of law. This is not because they "violate" international law; ironically, drone strikes might be less destabilizing, from a rule-of-law perspective, if they could be easily categorized as blatant instances of rule-breaking.
Kosovo to Kadi: Legality and Legitimacy in the Contemporary International Order Ruti Teitel Whence does international law derive its normative force as law in a world that remains, in many respects, one where legitimate politics is practiced primarily at the national level?
FEATURE
Coalitions of the Willing and Responsibilities to Protect: Informal Associations, Enhanced Capacities, and Shared Moral Burdens Toni Erskine There has been widespread support for the idea that the so-called international community has a remedial moral responsibility to protect vulnerable populations from grave human right violations when their own governments fail to do so, and that this protection may, when necessary, include military intervention. But where exactly is this responsibility located?
REVIEWS [Full Text]
The Politics and Ethics of Identity: In Search of Ourselves by Richard Ned Lebow Review by Alan Wolfe Lebow argues that nearly all the claims made by social theorists emphasizing the importance of identity are wrong. Political Self-Sacrifice: Agency, Body and Emotion in International Relations by K. M. Fierke Review by Andrew A. G. Ross This book brings what seem like senseless acts of desperation into focus as strategically intelligible and culturally meaningful techniques of resistance.
Modern Pluralism: Anglo-American Debates Since 1880 edited by Mark Bevir Review by George Crowder Talk of "pluralism" has become ubiquitous in political theory, but it is often vague.
