A Jurisprudence of the Problem of War

Abstract

The thesis focuses upon what might be termed 'war's moral problem.' The problem relates to an aporetic relation between a transcendental position of morality and the phenomenon of war. In general terms the problem refers to the situation where, on the one hand, a 'particular conception of morality' condemns war, yet, on the other hand, morality is forced to legitimate particular wars in the attempt to overcome the condition of war. This can be understood as a jurisprudential question that comes to Anglo-European jurisprudence through a long tradition(s) of natural law.