Description
Book SynopsisOn War and Democracy provides a richly nuanced examination of the moral justifications democracies often invoke to wage war. In this compelling and provocative book, Christopher Kutz argues that democratic principles can be both fertile and toxic ground for the project of limiting war's violence. Only by learning to view war as limited by our democ
Trade Review"On War and Democracy is well written, well argued, and highly readable. Its most compelling points link a type of regime with how a regime wages war, a link that calls to mind the ethics of drones, torture, and other contemporary war tactics."--Choice
Table of ContentsPermissions ix Acknowledgments xi 1 Introduction: War, Politics, Democracy 1 2 Democratic Security 18 3 Citizens and Soldiers: The Difference Uniforms Make 37 4 A Modest Case for Symmetry: Are Soldiers Morally Equal? 63 5 Leaders and the Gambles of War: Against Political Luck 83 6 War, Democracy, and Publicity: The Persistence of Secret Law 104 7 Must a Democracy Be Ruthless? Torture, Necessity, and Existential Politics 125 8 Humanitarian Intervention and the New Democratic Holy Wars 159 9 Democratic States in Victory: Vae Victis? 179 10 Drones, Democracy, and the Future of War 195 11 Democracy and the Death of Norms 223 12 Looking Backward: Democratic Transitions and the Choice of Justice 246 Notes 275 Index 321
