CIAO DATE: 11/2008
Volume: 22, Issue: 1
Spring 2008
This issue features a special report on the proposed U.S. missile defenses in Europe by Philip Coyle and Victoria Samson; Mathias Risse on the morality of immigration; Alison M.S. Watson on how children are ignored in peace negotiations; Richard B. Miller on justifications of the Iraq War; William Smith and James Brassett on perspectives on deliberation and global governance; and Whitley Kaufman on torture and the "distributive theory" of self-defense. It also includes book reviews and a new section, "Briefly Noted," which covers recent books in the field of international relations.
Missile Defense Malfunction: Why the Proposed U.S. Missile Defenses in Europe Will Not Work (PDF)
Philip Coyle, Victoria Samson
Production of this special report was supported by a grant from the Alfred and Jane Ross Foundation.
The U.S. proposal to establish missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic has exacerbated relations with Russia to a degree not seen since the height of the Cold War, and has done so despite the fact that the system has no demonstrated capability to defend the United States, let alone Europe, under realistic operational conditions. Further, it is being built on the shoulders of a missile defense system that has not come close to proving itself in testing and is still missing major components. Indeed, even the branch of the Pentagon charged with developing missile defense, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), claims only to be able to address an "unsophisticated threat." As this paper will demonstrate, the proposed U.S. missile defense system in Europe creates much havoc and provides no security in return.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE, RESPONSE TO "MISSILE DEFENSE MALFUNCTION": Setting the Record Straight
Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III
In the Spring 2008 Ethics & International Affairs article, "Missile Defense Malfunction," Philip Coyle and Victoria Samson systematically misrepresent or ignore key facts to bolster their arguments against deploying defenses in Europe to protect our allies and forces in that region against an emerging intermediate and long-range Iranian ballistic missile threat. I want to set the record straight.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: On U.S. Plans to Deploy ABM Systems in Europe and Possible Compromise Solutions
Petr B. Romashkin, Pavel S. Zolotarev
Production of this special report was supported by a grant from the Alfred and Jane Ross Foundation.
The current state of Russian-American relations in the area of missile defense—specifically the proposed placement of U.S. missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic—cannot be evaluated without taking a retrospective look at the problem. The past has an appreciable impact on the present and future.
On the Morality of Immigration (PDF)
Mathias Risse
First, I wish to make a plea for the relevance of moral considerations in debates about immigration. Second, I wish to offer a standpoint that demonstrates why one should think of immigration as a moral problem that must be considered in the context of global justice.
Can There Be a "Kindered" Peace? (PDF)
Alison M. S. Watson
Arguably, children are among those most affected by contemporary models of conflict. Yet their plight is little discussed when it comes to agreeing on the minutiae of a peace proposal, despite the fact that children are widely recognized as significant to the sustainability of peace.
Justifications of the Iraq War Examined (PDF)
Richard B. Miller
This paper critically assesses three claims on behalf of the Iraq war made by the Bush administration and by various defenders of the war. Then it steps back from the specifics of these three rationales to ask whether they are in fact of the same sort.
Deliberation and Global Governance: Liberal, Cosmopolitan, and Critical Perspectives
William Smith, James Brassett
This paper develops a critical analysis of deliberative approaches to global governance. After first defining global governance and with a minimalist conception of deliberation in mind, the paper outlines three paradigmatic approaches: liberal, cosmopolitan, and critical. The possibilities and problems of each approach are examined and a common concern with the scope for "deliberative reflection" in global governance is addressed.
It is argued that each approach, to varying degrees, foregrounds the currently underdetermined state of knowledge about global governance, its key institutions, agents, and practices. In doing so, the question "What is global governance?" is retained as an important and reflective element of ongoing deliberative practices. It is suggested that this constitutes the distinctive and vital insight of deliberative approaches to global governance.
Torture and the "Distributive Justice" Theory of Self-Defense: An Assessment
Whitley Kaufman
The notorious Bybee Memorandum produced by the Bush Administration in 2002 defends the use of coercive interrogation by (among other things) arguing that torturing terrorists in order to prevent future harm could be justified as a form of "self-defense." This argument relies on a recent and little-known theory of self-defense that I call the "distributive justice" theory. The goal of this essay is to demonstrate that distributive justice is a flawed theory of self-defense and must be rejected, thus undercutting the argument that torture can be justified as self-defense. Harm inflicted on a person who is in custody and no longer able to commit further acts of violence cannot plausibly be considered a form of self-defense.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: RESPONSE TO WHITLEY KAUFMAN: The Distributive Justice Theory of Self-Defense
Re'em Segev
Segev argues for a theory of distributive justice and considers its implications. This theory includes a principle of responsibility that was endorsed by others within an account of defensive force (self-defense and defense of others). Kaufman criticizes this account, which he refers to as the "distributive justice theory of self-defense" (DJ theory). In this paper, Segev responds to this criticism.
"The Clash Within: Religion, Violence, and India's Future" - by Martha C. Nussbaum (PDF)
Peter van der Veer
Nussbaum argues that her contribution is as that of a loudspeaker, since she feels that Indian developments are wrongly ignored in the United States and Europe.
"Inventing Human Rights: A History" - by Lynn Hunt (PDF)
Bronwyn Leebaw
Lynn Hunt's "Inventing Human Rights" develops an intriguing meditation on the relationships among art, morality, and political change. Hunt also raises questions of profound importance to the contemporary human rights movement.
"Planet of Slums" - by Mike Davis (PDF)
Ron Kassimir
The core of Mike Davis's book "Planet of Slums" is that the contemporary Third World urban poor are doubly cursed in ways that echo the two major upheavals of the nineteenth century: industrialization and imperialism.
Sakiko Fukuda-Parr
This book sets out to address the concepts of the right to development as well as the human rights-based approach to development. It includes contributions of economists, legal scholars, and philosophers presented at the 2003 Nobel Symposium on the Right to Development and Human Rights in Development.
This section contains a round-up of recent notable books in the field of international affairs.