The Analytic Just War in India

Registered participants can obtain the readings here.

The past decade has seen a surge of interest in the ethics of war amongst political, moral, and legal analytic philosophers. This is due in no small part to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, to the related issues of terrorism and drone use, and the number of recent civil conflicts in which it seems third parties might be permitted or required to intervene. There is a considerable amount of scholarship being undertaken in India that addresses some of these issues from a legal perspective. But there is surprisingly little work being done on the ethics of war per se, outside of some key historical, religious, and interpretive theological debates. Indeed, at present, there is virtually no philosophical work being done on the ethics of war in the analytic tradition?even in terms of how these may relate to the laws of war that India has claimed to adhere to ever since its independence.

As a result, we are organizing a workshop to begin to address this gap. The workshop is a pilot event that is intended to be part of a larger project engaging with Indian researchers who are interested in participating in the very active debate currently going on in analytic just war theory, and developing international collaborative links with those researchers. The project is currently being spearheaded by a partnership between Jindal Global University (India), the Jack & Mae Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security (Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada) and the Stockholm Centre for the Ethics of War and Peace (Stockholm University, Sweden), representing a broader network that includes the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (University of Oxford, UK), the Centre for Ethics, Law and Public Affairs (University of Warwick, UK) and the Research School of Social Sciences (Australian National University).

Just War Theory Workshop, Jindal Global University
09.30 – 17.00, Saturday 28 February, 2015
G-5, Anand Niketan, Opposite Motilal Nehru College, New Delhi

The workshop will be led by Helen Frowe (Director, Stockholm Centre for the Ethics of War and Peace) and Fran?ois Tanguay-Renaud (Director, Jack and Mae Nathanson Centre). Key texts in contemporary just war theory will be assigned and form the basis of our discussion. Participants will be asked to prepare a brief comment or reaction piece, which they will be invited to present on the day. Attendance is free, but participants must register in advance by emailing [email protected].

Please note that lunch will be served, and that the workshop will be followed by a dinner.