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Course Syllabus

2019/2020

War and Peace

Type: Mago-Lego
Delivered by: School of Philosophy
When: 3, 4 module
Instructors: Boris Kashnikov
Language: English
ECTS credits: 3
Contact hours: 40

Course Syllabus

Full Syllabus

Abstract

The course offers a substantive study of the normative aspects of war and peace. The students are supposed to familiarize themselves with the major theories of the philosophy of war as well as some approaches related to theoretical pacifism, realism and just war theory. The course is interdisciplinary. The students will study the historical aspects of war, philosophical and normative issues of war and theological attitudes to war. This course is based on knowledge and competences which were provided by the following disciplines: ● Philosophy. ● Political Science ● General Sociology ● History of religion The following knowledge and competences are needed to study the discipline: ● The basic skills of philosophical analysis in terms of war and peace ● The basic knowledge of the normative foundations of war ● The knowledge of the basics definitions in terms of war and violence
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The major learning objectives are comprised of factual knowledge of the development of the historical faces of war and the normative theories of war stemming from philosophy, ethics and theology. The students are supposed to developed the adequate skills of normative analysis of war to be able to take part in the practical discourse on war and to provide philosophical analysis of the ongoing conflict, war or some other outbreak of substantial violence.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • The students come to understand the volatile nature of war, its possible definitions and transformations, which occurred in history
  • The students are supposed to understand the difference of war and other less sublime forms of massive violence including genocide, terrorism. Since war is always hovering uneasily between different forms, this knowledge has some moral importance
  • The knowledge of the content of the major normative approaches to war is the key aspect of the course. The students are supposed not only to understand the content of these normative issues but also to develop the attitude of their own
  • The knowledge of the content of the major paradigms of the just war theory is obtained here. The sovereignty paradigm and human rights paradigm are different not only in theory, but also in practice.
  • The waging of war is a matter of normativity. The students are supposed to know the major principles of both Jus in Bello and Jus ad Bellum. They are supposed to operated freely with the major distinctions of the principles are be able to apply the notions in public discourse
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Nature, meaning and short history of war
    1. The definitions and conceptions of war. Different definitions of war. The major features of war as an institute. The problem of the embeddedness of war in human history. War and progress. Total war. Absolute war. War and religion. War and philosophy. 2. Clausewitz “On War”. War as continuation of politics by other means. War as a duel. Absolute and limited war. The aim of war. The conception of “trinity”. The friction of war and the “fog of war’. Military genius. Military strategy and tactics. The goals of war. The influence of Clausewitz on the consequent military and political thought. 3. The reason and motives of war. War and reason. Rationality and war. The reasons for war. Interests and war. Honor and war. Standing and war. Fear and war. War of aggression and self-defense. National-liberation movements and war. Humanitarian intervention. 4. The modes of warfare. Insurgency. Partisanship. Asymmetric warfare. Strategic air war. Little wars. Nuclear war. War of attrition. Terror war. Ideological war. Digital war. Economic war. Blockade. Cyber war. Religious wars. 5. The pre human warfare. Aggression in nature. Konrad Lorenz “On Aggression”. Sociobiology and the survival of the fittest. The “militancy” of apes and the traces of war in early hominids. 6. War and human nature. Hobbesian tradition of human nature. Rousseau and the conception of the “noble savage”. Hume and the double nature of human beings. The contemporary conceptions of human violence. The cultural conception. The biological conception. Game theoretical approach. 7. War in hunter-gather society. 99% of human history was history of cave man. Anthropology of primitive warfare. Archeology of warfare. The necessity of war. War as way of life. 8. War in agrarian society. The emergence of sedentary way of life and the clash with nomads. The emergence of vast empires and class differentiation. The regional and social inequality. The conception of the class nature of war. 9. War in industrial society. The emergence of contemporary state. “War made state, states made war”. Gun powder and war. Military technologies. Standing armies. Conscription. Strategy. Reason d’état. 10. War and postmodern condition. Postmodern war. The changing nature of sovereignty. Global condition. Politics as continuation of war. Globalization and permanent war. Global police operations. Permanent war. Major features of asymmetric warfare. Terrorism as the result of asymmetries. 11. New technologies. Precision weapons. Drones. Enhanced soldier.
  • The Four Horsemen of Violence. War, Genocide, Revolution and Terrorism
    1. The nature of violence. Violence and force. The meaning of violence. Structural violence. Institutional violence. Violence and law. Violence and civilization. 2. Genocide. Genocide in history of civilization. Genocide and modernity. The modern cases of genocide. Genocide in international law. 3. Revolutionary violence and insurgency. Tyrannicide. Coup d’état. The war of Partisan. National liberation war. Fanon and his “Wretched of the Earth”. Revolutions. Dostoyevsky and “The Devils”. The early evaluations of revolutionary violence. The possible justifications of uprisings. 4. State repressions. Early conceptions of the permissible level of state violence in Augustine and Aquinas. Absolutism in Europe. Hobbes on the prerogative of sovereign power. Nazism. Bauman and “Modernity and the Holocaust”. Purges in the USSR. The Gulag system. Sozenitsin and “The Red Wheel”. Mccarthyism in the USA. “Discipline and Punish” by Foucault. Contemporary problems with the prerogative of the government. 5. Criminal violence. Crime and society. Criminality as subculture. Violence in detention faculties. The phenomenon of Gulag. “Thief’s law”. Mafia and mafia’s wars. Mafia and the state. The role of religion in criminal violence. 6. Terror, war and violence. The nature of terrorism. The distinction of terror and terrorism. Terrorism as communicative action. Game theoretical approach to terrorism. Terrorism and the major forms of violence. Terrorism as fact and value. The subjective nature of “terroristic” labelling. The justification of terror. The case of Russian revolutionary terrorism. The idea of global terrorism. The case of Al-Qaeda. The case of ISIS.
  • The normative attitudes to war in philosophy and religion: Pacifism, Realism, Militarism, Crusade and a Holy War.
    1. War and normativity. The normative nature of war. Military virtues and values. Cohesion. Military and the state. 2. Absolute pacifism. The unreasonableness of absolute pacifism. Religious absolute pacifism in Buddhism. Absolute pacifism of Tolstoy. 3. Contingent pacifism. The classification of contingent pacifisms. Political pacifism. Individual pacifism. Nuclear pacifism. Personal pacifism. Pacifism and feminism. 4. Pacifism and contemporary political movements. Pacifism and the contemporary left movement. Pacifism and environmentalism. Pacifism and anti-war movement. 5. Religious pacifism. Pacifism in sectarian Christianity. Pacifism of Quakers. Pacifism in Buddism. 6. Militarism. Absolute militarism of some ancient cultures. War as an way of life and an end in itself. Military values. Achilles complex. Kant on sublimity of war. Hegel on virtues of war and degeneration of peace. Militarism of Mussolini. Contingent militarism. 7. Early realism. Thucydides. On Peloponnesian war. The general approach of Thucydides. Melian dialogue. 8. Realism and early modernity. Machiavelli and Hobbes. Machiavelli on war. Hobbes on state of war, prerogative and international relations. 9. Realism of the 20th century. Realism in international politics of the 20th century. Henry Kissinger. 10. American realism of Niebuhr and Morgenthau. Moral man and immoral society. Politics among nations. The struggle for power and peace. Pessimism. The realism of Greek tragedy. Lebow and “Why nations fight”. 11. Contemporary realism and contemporary politics. Globalism and global police operations. The transformation of realism through just war theory. 12. Crusade. The short history of crusades. 12. The idea of Holy War. The faces of Holy War. The meanings of Holy War. The comparison of Holy War and Just War. The two words concept. The historical development in justification of war. The idea of Jihad in Shaybani’s Siyar. Augustinian idea of two cities and holy war. The concept of Jihad in Farabi. Authority to make war in Western tradition. Authority to make war in Islam. Rival claims to authority. Worldly authorities and the success of God’s plan. The Islamic ideal of religio-political unity. The Islamic juristic ideal and practice of statecraft. The idea of defensive Jihad. Ghaza – war for the faith. Appropriating the models for Jihad in modern practice. Individual duty and the right to wage Jihad.
  • Just war theory as philosophical and religious doctrine
    St. Augustine and the foundation of the Just War Theory. The unique plight of Christianity as state religion. The blend of Roman militarism and Christian pacifism. The sinful violence versus non sinful violence. The sin of hate, the virtue of chastity. Just cause. Good intentions. Legitimate authority. The roots of crusading in the writings of Augustine. 2. St. Thomas and the establishment of the Just War Theory. The nature of war in the middle ages. Two cultures. Just war theory as official normative conception of war of Res publica Christiana. The justification of uprising. 3. Francisco de Vitoria. The revitalization of the Just War Theory. The new formulations of the major principles. The practical role of the just war theory. De Indis. The critique of violence of the Spanish politics in colonies. 4. Hugo Grotius. The secularization of the Just War Theory and the emergence of the international law. The completion of the just war theory. The transformation of the just war theory into secular international law. The major principles of international law. 5. The reemergence of Just War Theory in the 20th century. Walzer, “Just and Unjust Wars” and sovereignty paradigm. The justice of self-defense. The conception of supreme emergency. Preventive war and preventive war. The possibility of limited intervention. The set of principles. Cases. 6. Latest developments. Human rights paradigm. Just combatants versus unjust combatants. Human rights and the necessity of their global support. The justification of humanitarian intervention. The justice of war on terror. 7. The contemporary implications of the just war theory. Ideology of justice. Just war theory and the war on Serbia. The war on Libya. The war on Iraq. Afghanistan. Just war theory as official ideology of war in the USA. 8. The critique of the Just War Theory. An inadequate conception of justice. The mistake in normative settings. The wrong assumptions. Does justice justify war? The impossibility of just war in the contemporary setting.
  • The normative principles of war in philosophy and religions. Jus in bello and Jus ad Bellum
    1. The nature of principles of the just war. Norms, principles and rules. The principles with no empirical foundation. The wishful thinking character of the principles. Principles with no definite rules. 2. Just cause. Self-defense versus the defense of others. Promotions of values. Aggression. The problem of self-defense. 3. Good intentions. The subjectivity of intentions. The problem of measurement. Intentions and motives. Intentions and means. 4. Legitimate authority. The problem of legitimation. What makes authority? State sovereignty. The authority of international law and international institutions. The legitimacy of separatism. The legitimacy of Nazism. What legitimates the Nurnberg tribunal? The doubtful legitimacy of NATO interventions. 5. Last resort. What makes resort last. The problem of criteria. 6. Proportionality. The proportional and disproportional violence. The subjectivity of principles. Impossibility of universally valid rules. 7. Reasonable chance of success. Risk loving and risk aversive behavior. The impossibility of common rules of success. What makes success. Moral and rational dimension of success. The subjectivity of values. 8. The general idea of limited and constrained war. The historical tradition of constrained war. Chivalry. The wars of mercenaries of the early modernity. The tradition of constrained war in ancient Greece and India. 9. Proportionality in bello. Proportionality in strategy and tactics of war. The cases of proportional and disproportional war. The subjectivity of the principles. 10. Discrimination in bello. The distinction of combatants and noncombatants at war. The grows of deaths among civilians in contemporary war. 11. Geneva law. The sequence of statutes. 12. Hague Law. The early and contemporary statutes. 13. ICRC and humanitarian law of war. The legacy of Henri Dunant. The spirit of Solferino. The emergence of International Red Cross. Promulgation of humanitarian law in national legal systems. 14. The contemporary implications of humanitarian law. International court of justice. The Haag tribunal. The problems with the implementation of international law.
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Homework
  • non-blocking Essay
  • non-blocking Research paper
  • non-blocking Oral exam
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • Interim assessment (4 module)
    0.25 * Essay + 0.25 * Homework + 0.25 * Oral exam + 0.25 * Research paper
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • CARL VON CLAUSEWITZ. (2017). On War. [S.l.]: BookRix. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1469871
  • Craig, C. (DE-588)133200329, (DE-576)17820420X. (2003). Glimmer of a new Leviathan : total war in the realism of Niebuhr, Morgenthau, and Waltz / Campbell Craig. New York [u.a.]: Columbia University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.107906570
  • Fotion, N., & Coppieters, B. (2008). Moral Constraints on War : Principles and Cases (Vol. 2nd ed). Lanham: Lexington Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=234589
  • Grayling, A. C. (2017). War : An Enquiry. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=nlebk&AN=1494428
  • Lee, S. (2012). Ethics and War : An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=432745
  • LEO TOLSTOY. (2017). The Kingdom of God Is Within You. [S.l.]: BookRix. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1469719
  • Malešević, S. (2010). The Sociology of War and Violence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=329381
  • Mapel, D. R. (1998). The Holy War Idea in Western and Islamic Traditions. By Johnson James Turner. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1997. 185p. $45.00 cloth, $16.95 paper. American Political Science Review, (02), 438. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.cup.apsrev.v92y1998i02p438.439.21
  • Walzer, M. (2006). Just and Unjust Wars : A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations (Vol. Fourth edition). New York: Basic Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=982029

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Alexander, Y., State University of New York College at Oneonta, Carlton, D., & Wilkinson, P. (2019). Terrorism: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2159857
  • Arkin, R. (2010). The Case for Ethical Autonomy in Unmanned Systems. Journal of Military Ethics, 9(4), 332–341. https://doi.org/10.1080/15027570.2010.536402
  • Black, J. (1998). Why Wars Happen. London: Reaktion Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=292558
  • Bloom, M. (2005). Dying to kill : the allure of suicide terror / Mia Bloom. New York: Columbia University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.117638374
  • Cady, D. L. (2010). From Warism to Pacifism : A Moral Continuum (Vol. 2nd ed). Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=326103
  • Coates, A. J. (2016). The Ethics of War : Second Edition (Vol. Second edition). Manchester: Manchester University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1444092
  • Dawes, J. (2013). Evil Men. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=520752
  • Fiala, A. G. (2004). Practical Pacifism. New York: Algora Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=114718
  • Fiala, A. G. (2007). The Just War Myth : The Moral Illusions of War. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=633280
  • Frowe, H. (2011). Moral Dilemmas of Modern War: Torture, Assassination, and Blackmail in an Age of Asymmetric Conflict, by Michael Gross. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.2B24E23E
  • Frowe, H. (2016). The Ethics of War and Peace : An Introduction (Vol. Second edition). New York: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1082596
  • Gat, A. (2006). War in Human Civilization. Oxford: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=186606
  • Geras, N. (2011). Crimes Against Humanity : Birth of a Concept. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=514930
  • Keen, M. (2016). The Laws of War in the Late Middle Ages. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1077269
  • Khosrokhavar, F. (2009). Inside Jihadism : Understanding Jihadi Movements Worldwide. Boulder: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=571881
  • Lin, P. (2010). Ethical Blowback from Emerging Technologies. Journal of Military Ethics, 9(4), 313–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/15027570.2010.536401
  • Mahnken, T. G. (2018). Causes of War: Power and the Roots of Conflict. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.D4A6084
  • McMahan, J. (2009). Killing in War. Oxford: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=271286
  • Mumford, A. (DE-588)1015966020, (DE-576)351343180. (2013). Proxy warfare : [war and conflict in the modern world] / Andrew Mumford. Cambridge[u.a.]: Polity Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.399020624
  • Mungenast, H. (2001). Searching for Peace: The Road to TRANSCEND. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.3561672D
  • Rodin, D. (2015). War and Self-Defense. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.5768F7F
  • Singer, P. W. (2010). The ethics of killer applications : why is it so hard to talk about morality when it comes to new military technology? / P. W. Singer. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.389848190
  • Smith, D. (2018). Postmodern War. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.BE00BD85
  • Steinhoff, U. (2007). On the Ethics of War and Terrorism. Oxford: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=215209
  • Thürer, D. (2011). International Humanitarian Law : Theory, Practice, Context. [The Hague]: Brill. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=527042
  • Turner, N., Reichberg, G. M., & Popovski, V. (2009). World Religions and Norms of War. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=262616
  • Verweij, D., Baarda, T. van, Netherlands Institute for Military Ethics, & Nederlandse Defensie Academie. (2009). The Moral Dimension of Asymmetrical Warfare : Counter-terrorism, Democratic Values and Military Ethics. Leiden: Brill | Nijhoff. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=312656
  • Walzer, M. (2004). Arguing About War. New Haven [Ct.]: Yale University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=187686