ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses some of Mervyn Frost's claims as part of a general attempt to survey the current role and place of ethics and moral theorizing in international relations (IR) theory, focusing specifically on the period since the publication of Frost's essay to the present day. It argues that there have been significant developments in the field which speak directly both to the role and significance of positivism and to questions of moral judgement and evaluation. Ethics and moral analysis are more important than ever in IR, but it is still the case that only a relatively small group of scholars are in the business of answering the question 'What would it be ethically appropriate to do in these circumstances?' The chapter suggests that this represents not a failure to engage in 'true' moral analysis, but rather a maturing of the field, and a more astute understanding of the complex relationship between ethics and politics in the global context.
