From just war theory to ethico-political pacifism

ABSTRACT

This paper accepts Zehfuss’s argument for the inseparability of ethics from politics, and her critique of an ethics of war that assumes the application of the right just war principles will deliver a type of warfare that is ethical (in the sense of being morally correct). Building on Zehfuss’s argument, I will suggest that if we wish to pursue the ethics of war as an ethico-political practice, then we need to work out how to embed ethico-political reflexivity in the practice of ethical theorising about war. I will argue that it is in certain strands of pacifism that we find the most persuasive examples of what such an ethics of war involves.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethics
• just war
• pacifism
• politics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kimberly Hutchings

Kimberly Hutchings is Professor of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London. She is the author of numerous books and articles including  Global Ethics: an introduction  (Polity Press, 2nd Edition 2018) and (with Elizabeth Frazer) Can Political Violence Ever be Justified? (Polity Press, 2019).