This project is a proposed edited volume with Palgrave Macmillan. It examines the moral questions surrounding the use of force, asking why wars occur, whether violence can ever be justified, and what responsibilities individuals and political communities bear before, during, and after conflict. Drawing on philosophical, theological, and classical traditions, this field considers concepts such as justice, necessity, human dignity, responsibility, peace, and the limits of legitimate force, while also confronting the human experience of suffering, affliction, and destruction caused by war.
A central concern is how ethical reflection can help us understand war beyond strategic or political calculations. Bringing together a wide range of thinkers (including Democritus, Epicurus, Thucydides, Niccolo Machiavelli, Vladimir Solovyov, Simone Weil, Michael Walzer, Islamic, Byzantine, and other non-Western traditions, the volume pursues three interrelated objectives: to explain why wars emerge, to assess when the use of force can be morally justified, and to confront the enduring human costs of violence. These perspectives illuminate contemporary questions surrounding total war, political violence, humanitarian intervention, international relations, and the moral challenges posed by modern forms of conflict.