We are pleased to announce the publication of the Fall 2017 issue of Ethics & International Affairs!
This issue contains essays by Amartya Sen on the foundations of global justice and Amitav Acharya on the multiplex world order; features by Jamie Gaskarth on rising powers and their conceptions of responsibility, Laura Hartman on the "playing God" critique of climate engineering, and Aidan Hehir on improving the responsibility to protect through legal reform; review essays by Chris Brown on global poverty alleviation and James Turner Johnson on the ethics of insurgency; and book reviews by Claire Finkelstein, João Nunes, Cheryl O'Brien, and Michael Zürn.
ESSAYS
Ethics and the Foundation of Global Justice [Full Text Free Online for a Limited Time] Amartya Sen Can the idea of justice be global in scope? In this essay, Amartya Sen challenges the dominant theories of justice in contemporary political philosophy, asserting that the pursuit of justice does not depend on the existence of a sovereign state.
After Liberal Hegemony: The Advent of a Multiplex World Order [Full Text] Amitav Acharya In this essay, Amitav Acharya argues that as the U.S.-dominated world order comes to an end, liberal values and institutions will not disappear, but will have to coexist and enmesh with the ideas and institutions of the rising powers. This "multiplex world" carries both risks and opportunities for managing international stability.
FEATURES
Rising Powers, Responsibility, and International Society Jamie Gaskarth This article examines statements made by Brazil, China, and India in UN Security Council meetings between 2011 and 2016 to identify their perspectives on which international actors are responsible and what constitutes responsible action. The article then analyzes these statements in light of English School theory on responsibility and international society.
Climate Engineering and the Playing God Critique Laura M. Hartman The "playing God" critique charges that humans should not undertake to control nature in ways that overstep the proper scope of human agency. In this article, Laura M. Hartman explores the way this critique is used with respect to geoengineering, and concludes that climate interventions should be based on contextual awareness and responsive, communal responsibility.
"Utopian in the Right Sense": The Responsibility to Protect and the Logical Necessity of Reform Aidan Hehir In this article, Aidan Hehir writes that claims made about the success of the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) echo the pejorative conceptions of "utopianism" as advanced by E. H. Carr and Ken Booth. In order to revive RtoP, Hehir suggests a potential reform of the existing international legal order that meets Carr's preference for normative thinking that is "utopian in the right sense."
REVIEW ESSAYS
Poverty Alleviation, Global Justice, and the Real World Chris Brown For nearly half a century, political theorists have wrestled with the problem of global social justice, producing ever more elaborate and analytically sophisticated models, but without engaging significantly with, or materially influencing, real-world politics. In this review essay, Chris Brown considers one of the latest contributions to this literature.
The Ethics of Insurgency James Turner Johnson In this review essay, James Turner Johnson considers two recent books on the ethics of insurgency warfare. He draws on the deep history of moral and legal thought on the subject to forcefully defend many of the standards laid out in the classical just war tradition and enshrined in international law.
REVIEWS [All Full Text]
Lawfare: Law as a Weapon of War Orde F. Kittrie Review by Claire Finkelstein Orde Kittrie's impressive new book describes the various uses of law to accomplish military aims in international affairs. It offers a systematic, detailed, and visionary synthesis and should be required reading for any military strategist or scholar of armed conflict.
Disease Diplomacy: International Norms and Global Health Security Sara E. Davies, Adam Kamradt-Scott, and Simon Rushton Review by João Nunes In Disease Diplomacy, the authors provide an empirically rich and theoretically sophisticated account of the reform of the International Health Regulations. The book also makes valuable contributions to academic debates on agenda-setting in global health and global health security.
When Norms Collide: Local Responses to Activism against Female Genital Mutilation and Early Marriage Karisa Cloward Review by Cheryl O'Brien In this book, Karissa Cloward employs a mixed-methods study to examine the ways that local communities react to transnational activism and international norm promotion. In doing so, the author provides a blueprint for achieving meaningful change in advancing human rights and reducing violence against women.
Power Shift: On the New Global Order Richard Falk Review by Michael Zürn Richard Falk's most recent book is full of interesting insights and displays an impressive degree of rhetorical power. Collectively, these essays demonstrate, rather convincingly, what a precarious world we live in.
