The New Ethics & International Affairs Blog

A new blog connected to Ethics & International Affairs, the journal of the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, has launched.  We can expect links to book reviews and selected full-text articles from the journal, announcements, and broad, informed discussions of the kinds of ethical issues that fill the pages of the journal.  Be sure to check it out.

Ethics Beyond War's End

Georgetown University Press has just published Ethics Beyond War's End, a book based on papers presented at a conference hosted by Georgetown in April 2010.

The book, edited by Eric Patterson, includes contributions from a number of leading just war theorists including Michael Walzer, James Turner Johnson, Jean Bethke Elshtain, and Brian Orend.  My own chapter--"A More Perfect Peace:  Jus Post Bellum and the Quest for Stable Peace"--begins with Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's observation that "the legitimate object of war is a more perfect peace."  Sherman's statement, which echoes the emphasis that both Aristotle and Augustine placed on ending wars in a way that would secure peace, should prompt us to rethink the idea of a war to end all wars.   It is not a utopian objective.  World War II, after all, was the war to end all wars in Western Europe, thanks in part to the careful steps taken to create "a more perfect peace" than that which had been created after World War I.  Notwithstanding talk of intervention in Syria or a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, the great goal of laying interstate war to rest actually seems to be within reach.  Getting the peace process right when wars do occur is, I believe, an important part of ending not just particular wars but war in general.

Over the course of the past decade, the concept of jus post bellum has gone from being a possibility broached by a few isolated thinkers to a widely accepted element of just war theory that has attracted the attention of a broad spectrum of scholars and practitioners.  Ethics Beyond War's End makes it clear that thinking about justice after war is essential, but that no consensus yet exists on the ethical principles that should guide that process. 

ISA-West 2012 Call for Papers

One of the benefits of serving as president of the International Studies Association's West Region is that I can be the first to roll out the Call for Papers for our 2012 annual meeting.  And I get to thank program chairs Jennifer Ramos of Loyola Marymount University and Donna Nincic of the California Maritime Academy for their work on what promises to be an excellent meeting.

(I haven't preserved the links on what follows, so to submit a proposal or register for the conference, please check our website at www.isawest.org in a few days for complete details on the conference.)

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The 2012 ISA-West Annual Meeting will be held October 19-20 at the Pasadena Hilton in the heart of Pasadena, California. We invite paper, panel, and roundtable proposals on any aspect of international studies, including those related to pedagogy within the discipline.

We especially welcome proposals related to this year’s theme, Climate Change and Human Security. The predicted impact of climate change on human societies has been a topic of wide-ranging discussion for some years. While there are still “climate deniers” who argue that climate change is not happening or is not resulting from human activity, groups such as the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have issued a series of reports detailing predictions for the future in areas of food security, fresh water availability and access, health and the spread/migration of disease, and effects on coastal areas due to rising sea levels and increased storm severity. All of these will have significant consequences on human societies; many will lead to life-threatening challenges for various populations around the world.

With this in mind, the conference organizers encourage the submission of proposals for individual papers, complete panels, and roundtables that consider the following questions:

• What is the impact of various aspects of climate change on human societies?

• What are the relative consequences for nations at different levels of development?

• Are societies and nations ready to cope (both financially and in terms of logistics and infrastructure) with the predicted increase in, and intensity of, climate-induced natural disasters?

• To what extent will women bear a greater burden than men?

• What are the possible effects of climate change and climate-induced natural disasters on concepts of sovereignty, statehood, etc.?

• How will states and societies cope with a predicted increase in climate refugees?

• What is the role climate change may play in future conflicts – both within, and between nation-states?

Proposals may be submitted via myISA. Click “My Submissions” on the ISA-West conference page to submit a proposal. If you do not already have one, you will need to create an account in order to access MyISA. Please note that you need not be a member of the International Studies Association in order to create an account. Questions about submissions and registration may be directed to the conference organizers at isawest@gmail.com.

The deadline for the submission of proposals is June 1, 2012.

Faculty members presenting papers will be asked to serve as chairs and discussants. Please indicate your areas of expertise when you register via MyISA. Please note that those whose proposals are accepted must register before August 1, 2012. Any accepted participant who fails to attend the conference will, except in case of emergency, be excluded from participation in future ISA-West conferences.

Three best paper citations—one each for faculty or independent scholars, graduate students, and undergraduate students—will be awarded at the Saturday luncheon reception.

Donna J. Nincic, California Maritime Academy, CSU

Jennifer Ramos, Loyola Marymount University

Program Chairs