ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the "moral equality of soldiers" defending it against a renewed wave of philosophical criticism and lending it further support. It offers a moral justification of the traditional wartime immunities guaranteed by law to all civilians and prisoners. The book considers the principle of proportionality that applies to military attacks, as well as various measures of economic warfare. It also discusses the restriction of proportionality in war in both its moral and its legal contexts, with reference both to the onset of war and to its conduct. The book addresses the inevitable increase in civilian casualties experienced in "the war on terror", in which combat has moved from the traditional battlefield into civilian areas. It looks at the contemporary just war theory literature on preventive war that has emerged largely in reaction to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.