When Killers Become Victims: Diversionary War,Human Rights,and Strategic Target Selection

The diversionary theory largely focuses on the incentives leaders have to use force. However, little attention has been given to the characteristics that make for a good target. We argue that US presidents choose targets that repress human rights since they are the easiest to sell to international and domestic audiences. By targeting repressive states US presidents can justify their use of force by cloaking their motivation in the language of human rights, responding to calls for intervention, pointing to the failure of international actors and institutions to resolve these problems, and building upon emerging norms that allow for intervention in repressive states. Updating US Use of Force data, we empirically test and find support for our hypothesis that presidents target human rights abusers when they face trouble at home. This paper contributes to target selection process by offering a complete theory of diversionary conflict accounting for cost/benefit calculation of presidents. Moreover, we believe that our findings reveal human rights practices’ role in international conflict, as well.     

Coalition Quality and Multinational Dispute Outcomes1

Multinational military coalitions are an increasingly common phenomena in international conflict, presumably because coalitions are more likely to secure their conflict aims than single states. Yet what makes a coalition more or less likely to succeed is poorly understood. We argue that the quality of multinational military coalitions—in terms of the coalition’s skill, coordination, and legitimacy—can provide better strategic decisions, more harmonious relations within the coalition, and thus a greater chance of securing conflict aims. Empirical testing reveals that elements of coalition quality do in fact affect the probability of military success: a history of success, both alone and with the same coalition partners, predicts military success. Moreover, increasing a coalition’s legitimacy via more diverse members has a weak effect, indicating that diversity comes at the expense of coordination and cooperation challenges. Last, we find that elements of coalition quality affect initiating and defending coalitions differently.     

Rawls on agreeing to disagree: How democracies differ from non-democracies in justifying war

We use Rawls’s account of public reason and the Law of Peoples to test two hypotheses: democracies are more likely to invoke self-defense in justifications than non-democracies, and democracies are more likely to invoke human rights in justifications than non-democracies. Through an analysis of war justifications since 1875, we find that although democracies and non-democracies are similarly likely to use self-defense as a justification, democracies are more likely to justify war through human rights. Institutions and values centering on rights that promote domestic public justification also promote justifications compatible with those values and institutions at the international level.     

An ethical defense of treason by means of espionage

This essay argues that treason by means of espionage is ethically justified when six factors are present, two of which are: that the political community being betrayed fails to secure for its citizens basic human rights and other means of peaceful or otherwise lawful protest are unavailable. The paper begins by analyzing the application of several theories of ethics to treason, including: consequentialism, deontology, the Just War tradition, and Michael Walzer’s influential concept of ‘dirty hands.’ It then criticizes these points of view and offers an account of jus ad proditione per intelligentia (just treason by means of espionage) based upon Aristotelian thinking about ethics and politics.     

人类增强的完美悖论及其伦理旨趣

以"NBIC"会聚(即纳米技术、生物技术、信息技术和认知科学的会聚)为代表的当代科技革命,在人类增强技术的技术功能展现上,揭开了人类改造或人体增强的"无限光明"的道德前景,从而使得人类以技术方式追求完美、制造完美成为可能.然而,人类增强技术所揭示的道德前景,能否获得伦理的支持?这仍然是一个引发激烈争论的话题.人类增强技...     

武田泰淳的中国战争经历与战争反思

武田泰淳是日本现代文学史上著名的战后派作家,二战期间作为辎重兵参加了日军的侵华战争。武田泰淳根据自己的战争经历创作了多部战争题材小说,同时还写下了大量的战地纪行、日记和信札,在一定程度上揭露了日军侵华的暴行,并对侵华战争进行了较为深入的反思。通过研究武田泰淳的中国战争经历和战地作品,可以窥视以武田泰淳为代表的日本知识分子战争前后对华态度的转变以及对侵华战争的反思。     

高技术局部战争中电子对抗的特征

结合８０年代以来发生的几场主要高技术条件下局部战争的战例，可以看出电子对抗的主要特征：电子对抗已经渗透到了军事的各个领域；主要目标是Ｃ３Ｉ系统；采取的手段是“软”、“硬”打击并举；电子对抗已几乎贯穿于战争的全过程，成为高技术局部战争中的重要作战手段。现代战场上，电子对抗斗争异常激烈，没有“电磁优势”、“钢铁优势”就难以维持，不掌握“制电磁权”，就谈不上什么制空权、制海权     

禁毒人民战争解读

在国家禁毒委员会的全面部署下，各地、各部门以“参与禁毒斗争，构建和谐社会”为主题，组织开展了全国性的禁毒人民战争。毒品问题的严峻形势得到有效缓解，全民识毒、拒毒、防毒意识普遍提高，禁毒的社会氛围更加浓厚。本文从健全和完善禁毒人民战争的理论体系出发，着力于禁毒斗争的纵深发展。     

从小说叙事视角还原《水浒传》“滥杀”

《水浒传》中存在着大量的＂滥杀＂情节描写。从小说文本的角度去观照这个问题,＂滥杀＂情节存在的原因有：一是历史事实在小说文本中的遗迹,二是继承于话本及杂剧,三是小说的浓厚的神学色彩,四是文人在水浒故事的艺术再创造过程中具有的＂暴力美学＂思想。     

未来战争对传统战争观念的挑战

传统的战争观念要随着战争形态的变化而改变。未来战争对传统战争观念将提出四个方面的挑战：“近战制胜观”受到“远战制胜论”的挑战；传统的夜战优势，受到高技术夜视装备器材优势的挑战；传统的以歼灭敌人有生力量为主的思想，受到以歼灭敌人的装备系统为主的思想的挑战；传统的“战争是流血的政治”，受到“战争也可能是不流血的政治”的挑战