ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to test the resiliency of the normative doctrine in light of the kind of warfare it must address in the contemporary system. It reviews the Just-War ethic and analyses its role in the nuclear argument and examines its uses in the Persian Gulf debate. From The State of War to Duties Beyond Borders and Janus and Minerva, Stanley Hoffmann position on the necessity of joining empirical analysis and moral wisdom is clear, and the fulfillment of this task in his own work sets a standard of excellence and courage difficult to approximate. It is not surprising; therefore, that he has often addressed the ethics of war, and specifically the status and role of the Just-War ethic. The Just-War ethic is designed to fulfill a double role, first as a framework for evaluating public policy, and second, as a guide for personal conscience.
