Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
This work explains why the concern to minimize civilian casualties is solidly based in Western civilization's most fundamental principles of justice. The author interprets Augustine's just war theory, Vitoria and Suarez's "transitional" model of war, and offers explanation for the modern characterization of the combatant as a depersonalized instrument.
Synopsis
Innocent Civilians traces the complex evolution of the principle of civilian immunity in war from its medieval religious origins to its modern legal status.
Booknews
Justice requires that innocent civilians should not be targeted in war. This work traces the evolution of the principle of non-combatant immunity in Western thought from its medieval religious origins to its modern legal status, highlighting the unsuccessful attempts to reconcile warfare with the West's most fundamental principle of justice. The book concludes by pointing to the changes required in the legal status of civilians and soldiers in war. McKeogh lectures in political science at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)