Just War: Principles and Cases

Regan has divided this work into two sections. The first examines the idea of Just War itself; its history and development. We learn how attitudes toward morality in war changed from Ancient times to the present. The second half of the book covers actual wars, from WWI to the conflict in Bosnia. Each chapter here is followed by a set of questions about the conflict, leading the reader to think out his reasoning on the morality of the war. I had first expected this to be full of anti-war rhetoric, likely written by a leftist professor now protesting the Iraq conflict. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Regan comes off as quite conservative, and not one out to condem America or the Western World. War, he makes clear, is justified if certain basic conditions are met. The one big drawback here is that Regan fails to weave Just War theory and development into part two. Instead we are given a brief historical look at the wars in question. The reader would be better served if the author had shown how the Just War theory related to the action. What, for instance, did church leaders and others say at the time? What do they say about these matters now? A little reflection of this kind would have made the book a lot better.

Just War Doctrine represents Western civilization's cumulative wisdom about what is and is not permissible in war. The Just War tradition can be traced back to Aristotle and Cicero, although early Christian thinkers were major contributors to the development of the Doctrine. Regan makes the point that Just War Doctrine is an exercise in practical reasoning. War is something people do; clearly not everything is permissible in war (e.g., atrocities); the statesman or the general must have some guidelines regarding what is and is not moral in war.This rather slender book is a good introduction to the history and development of Just War Doctrine. It is a worthy successor to classic but now out-of-print books by OBrien, Walzer, and Johnson. Regan begins by disposing of some critiques that would rule war out altogether: pacifism and Marxism. He then gives a brief history of the development of the Doctrine, from the writings of Augustine, Aquinas, Vittoria and Suarez. He then devotes four chapters to explaining the Just War Doctrine on when it is legitimate to go to war, including declaration by legitimate authority, just causes for war, the legitimacy of intervention by third parties, and having the right intention when going to war. The next chapter is devoted to what is just in war: the principles of proportionality and discrimination. Even a war justly entered may be fought unjustly, although as he points out, unjust conduct in war need not invalidate the original just cause for going to war. The final chapter discusses the problems nuclear weapons pose for Just War Doctrine. Regan gives a history of nuclear "strategies:" countercity, counterforce, and countercontrol. He analyzes each from the Just War standpoing, giving reasoned evaluations of each.Nearly the last half of the book is devoted to specific cases, ranging in time from World War I to the Bosnian war. These cases make the book extremely valuable as a text for a course on Just War. Regan not only provides a thumbnail history of each case, but includes a series of questions for discussion about each of the cases.All in all this book is a good introduction to Just War Doctrine. It would be suitable as a text for a one-semester course. It also provides a good bibliography of current material for further research.Dr. Joseph P. Martino is a retired Air Force Colonel, and is the author of A FIGHTING CHANCE: THE MORAL USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS (Ignatius Press, 1988).