Ethikon Series in Comparative Ethics

David R. Mapel, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is the author of Social Justice Reconsidered. Terry Nardin, Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is the author of Law, Morality, and the Relations of States (Princeton) and editor of The Ethics of War and Peace: Religious and Secular Perspectives (Princeton). Together they are the coeditors of Traditions in International Ethics. In a time of eroding sovereignty and resurgent nationalism, this collection provides a searching investigation of the moral foundations of the international order. Drawing on diverse philosophical and theological perspectives, the contributors debate the character of international society, the authority of international law and institutions, and the demands of international justice. In a series of philosophical essays, each followed by a critical commentary, the book considers the contributions of legal positivism, natural law, Kantian ethics, contractarian theory, and moral cosmopolitanism to the discussion of law and justice in international society. It also includes commentaries by experts in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic moral theology, and a concluding chapter that compares and contrasts the views presented without seeking to adjudicate their differences. Because of its comprehensive approach and the diversity of its viewpoints, the volume serves as an introduction to the topic and as a resource for scholars, journalists, policy makers, and anyone else who wants to understand better the range of moral perspectives that underlies discussion of the current international order. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Brian Barry, Chris Brown, John Charvet, Richard Friedman, Robert P. George, Sohail Hashmi, Pierre Laberge, David Miller, David Novak, Max L. Stackhouse, Fernando R. Tesón, and Frederick G. Whelan. "The work edited by Mapel and Nardin comprises sophisticated philosophical and legal analyses of the concept of 'international society' that is often associated with 'the English school' in International Relations.... A useful and highly topical corrective to the 'rogue states doctrine' promulgated by the United States!" "This penetrating study examines ethical perspectives on international society.... This volume will be of special interest to scholars of international ethics." "The collection is excellently constructed and put together and both individually and collectively very powerful. . . . An intellectually distinguished and extremely well conceived project."---N.J. Rengger, Political Studies

David Miller is Official Fellow in Social and Political Theory at Nuffield College, Oxford University. He is the author of On Nationality, Principles of Social Justice, and Citizenship and National Identity. Sohail H. Hashmi is Assistant Professor of International Relations at Mount Holyoke College and the editor of State Sovereignty. Despite the supreme political and economic significance of boundaries--and ongoing challenges to existing national boundaries--scant attention has been paid to their ethics. This volume explores how diverse ethical traditions understand the political and property rights reflected in territorial and jurisdictional boundaries. It is the first book to bring together thinkers from a range of traditions, both religious and secular, to discuss the ethics of boundaries. Each contributor represents a tradition's views on questions surrounding the use of boundaries to delimit property and political rights. What does it mean to own something? What resources should not be privately owned? What justifies the erection of political boundaries between one people and another? How ''hard'' should such boundaries be? What rights extend to minorities within a state? Should territorial boundaries coincide with social ones? Does national autonomy have an ethical basis, or is it an aspect of modern power politics? Should we aim for a more inclusive community than that afforded by modern nation-states? Cross-chapter dialogue and a substantive conclusion draw out similarities and differences among the traditions represented, traditions that include Christianity, classical liberalism, Confucianism, international law, Islam, Judaism, liberal egalitarianism, and natural law. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Nigel Biggar, Joseph Boyle, Joseph Chan, Russell Hardin, Will Kymlicka, Loren Lomasky, Robert McCorquodale, Richard B. Miller, David Novak, Sulayman Nyang, Michael Nylan, Raul C. Pangalangan, Daniel Philpott, Jeremy Rabkin, Hillel Steiner, M. Raquibuz Zaman, and Noam J. Zohar. "[This] collection of essays is very rich in ideas and in implications. It explores a vital set of questions and ethical concepts. The book leaves me wanting more such volumes that explore the boundaries of justice from varied ethical perspectives."---Dana W. Wilbanks, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "The subject of this book is an extremely important one. The treatments are good, and the whole is considerably more than its parts. I strongly recommend it."-Lee Yearley, Stanford University "This is an excellent volume on an important subject. A number of very highly respected contributors bring a range of perspectives to bear on several carefully framed questions related to boundaries. The book will interest a large number of people, in ethical and political philosophy, international law, political science, and international relations. It is an important contribution to the debate over boundaries and does the rare service of bringing together a wide variety of ethical traditions to bear on the issue."-Margaret Moore, University of Waterloo

Nancy L. Rosenblum is Professor of Government at Harvard University. She is the author of Membership and Morals (Princeton), Another Liberalism, and editor of Obligations of Citizenship and Demands of Faith (Princeton). Robert C. Post is Alexander F. and May T. Morrison Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Constitutional Domains and editor or coeditor of several other books. Civil Society and Government brings together an unprecedented array of political, ethical, and religious perspectives to shed light on the complex and much-debated relationship between civil society and the state. Some argue that civil society is a bulwark against government; others see it as an indispensable support for government. Civil society has been portrayed both as a independent of the state and as dependent upon it. This book reveals the extraordinary diversity of views on the subject by examining how civil society has been treated in classical liberalism, liberal egalitarianism, critical theory, feminism, natural law, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Confucianism. The volume draws on the work of eminent scholars to address six questions: In terms of function and consequences, does it matter where the line is drawn between civil society and the state? What is the relationship of civil society to the state? In what contexts and under what conditions should government interact with individuals directly or instead indirectly through communal associations? What are the prerogatives and duties of citizenship, and what is the role of civil society in forming good citizens? How should a society handle the conflicts that sometimes arise between the demands of citizenship and those of membership in the non-governmental associations of civil society? A theoretical introduction by the editors--political theorist Nancy Rosenblum and legal scholar Robert Post--and a conclusion by religious ethicist Richard Miller, tie the book together. In addition to Rosenblum, the contributors are Kenneth Baynes, David Biale, John Coleman, Farhad Kazemi, John Kelsay, William Galston, Will Kymlicka, Tom Palmer, Fred Miller, Susan Moller Okin, Peter Nosco, Henry Rosemont, Steven Scalet, David Schmidtz, William Sullivan, Max Stackhouse, Stephen White, and Noam Zohar. "The writing is crisp, the research and argumentation uniformly good." "Overall, there is nothing like this book that I know of. The contributors approach the question of the nature and place of civil society from within the most important contextual understandings of the major philosophical, ethical, and religious positions available in the world. This is a book that brings together material from an unusually wide range of perspectives on an important topic. The scholarship is first-rate-one profits from reading the footnotes as well as the text."-Tracy Strong, University of California, San Diego "The conversation about civil society is important and exciting, but remains marked by a high level of noise and a low level of coherence. This volume shows that the many disagreements over defining the concept of civil society are not simply explanatory-maybe not even mostly explanatory-but normative and ideological in nature. These essays begin to translate the terms of these perspectives into the language of civil society, a key preliminary to understanding the contours of the conversation. In so doing, the volume provides an important contribution to an increasingly rich conversation."-Mark E. Warren, Georgetown University

Daniel A. Bell is professor of political philosophy and ethics at Tsinghua University in Beijing. For much of the twentieth century, Confucianism was condemned by Westerners and East Asians alike as antithetical to modernity. Internationally renowned philosophers, historians, and social scientists argue otherwise in Confucian Political Ethics. They show how classical Confucian theory--with its emphasis on family ties, self-improvement, education, and the social good--is highly relevant to the most pressing dilemmas confronting us today. Drawing upon in-depth, cross-cultural dialogues, the contributors delve into the relationship of Confucian political ethics to contemporary social issues, exploring Confucian perspectives on civil society, government, territorial boundaries and boundaries of the human body and body politic, and ethical pluralism. They examine how Confucianism, often dismissed as backwardly patriarchal, can in fact find common ground with a range of contemporary feminist values and need not hinder gender equality. And they show how Confucian theories about war and peace were formulated in a context not so different from today's international system, and how they can help us achieve a more peaceful global community. This thought-provoking volume affirms the enduring relevance of Confucian moral and political thinking, and will stimulate important debate among policymakers, researchers, and students of politics, philosophy, applied ethics, and East Asian studies. The contributors are Daniel A. Bell, Joseph Chan, Sin Yee Chan, Chenyang Li, Richard Madsen, Ni Lexiong, Peter Nosco, Michael Nylan, Henry Rosemont, Jr., and Lee H. Yearley. "The recent resurgence of interest in Confucius and Confucianism has been reflected in an outpouring of books on all aspects of this important tradition. With this excellent volume, Bell . . . offers an indispensable collection of essays that address the contemporary relevance of classical Confucian ideas. Organized into chapters focusing on civil society, justice, pluralism, feminism, and war, Bell's latest offering combines previously published pieces with new articles from a range of significant authors. . . . These and other thought-provoking essays make this an indispensable addition to any serious collection of contemporary political thought."---R. Parrish, West Texas A&M University, for, CHOICE "Even for the non-specialist, Confucian Political Ethics is a lively and easily ingested read."---John A. Coleman, Politics and Religion "This excellent volume is relevant to a wide range of readers in such diverse fields as history, law, politics, sociology, feminist theory, comparative religion, and comparative philosophy. It will surely stimulate thoughtful reflection and debate for many years to come."---Sarah A. Queen, Journal of Law and Religion

Simone Chambers is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is the author of Reasonable Democracy: Jürgen Habermas and the Politics of Discourse, which won the American Political Science Association's First Book Award in Political Theory. Will Kymlicka is Queen's National Scholar in the Department of Philosophy at Queen's University, Ontario. His books include Liberalism, Community, and Culture; Multicultural Citizenship, and Politics in the Vernacular. The idea of civil society has long been central to the Western liberal-democratic tradition, where it has been seen as a crucial site for the development and pursuit of basic liberal values such as individual freedom, social pluralism, and democratic citizenship. This book considers how a host of other ethical traditions define civil society. Unlike most studies of the subject, which focus on a particular region or tradition, it considers a range of ethical traditions rarely addressed in one volume: libertarianism, critical theory, feminism, liberal egalitarianism, natural law, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Confucianism. It considers the extent to which these traditions agree or disagree on how to define civil society's limits and how to evaluate its benefits and harms. A variety of distinguished advocates and interpreters of these traditions present in-depth explorations of how these various traditions think of ethical pluralism within societies, asking how a society should respond to diversity among its members. Together they produce a work rich with original insights on a wide range of subjects about which little has been written to date. An excellent starting point for a comparative ethics of civil society, this book concludes that while the concept of civil society originated in the liberal tradition, it is quickly becoming an important focus for a truly cross-cultural dialogue. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Michael Banner, Hasan Hanafi, Loren E. Lomasky, Richard Madsen, Michael A. Mosher, Michael Pakaluk, Anne Philips, Adam B. Seligman, Suzanne Last Stone, and Michael Walzer. "Scholars concerned with these questions will benefit enormously from this highly recommended collection. It is unique among the many books on the topic of civil society and it deserves a wide, appreciative readership."---Jerome P. Baggett, Religious Studies Review "Most of the essays are first-rate introductions to their respective traditions. The reader cannot fail to expand his or her horizons by reading this book, which is filled with fascinating examples about how different traditions grapple with issues of ethical pluralism."-Daniel Bell, City University of Hong Kong

John A. Coleman, S.J., is the Charles Casassa Professor of Social Values at Loyola Marymount University. His many books include Globalization and Catholic Social Thought: Present Crisis, Future Hope. Christian Political Ethics brings together leading Christian scholars of diverse theological and ethical perspectives--Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anabaptist--to address fundamental questions of state and civil society, international law and relations, the role of the nation, and issues of violence and its containment. Representing a unique fusion of faith-centered ethics and social science, the contributors bring into dialogue their own varying Christian understandings with a range of both secular ethical thought and other religious viewpoints from Judaism, Islam, and Confucianism. They explore divergent Christian views of state and society--and the limits of each. They grapple with the tensions that can arise within Christianity over questions of patriotism, civic duty, and loyalty to one's nation, and they examine Christian responses to pluralism and relativism, globalization, and war and peace. Revealing the striking pluralism inherent to Christianity itself, this pioneering volume recasts the meanings of Christian citizenship and civic responsibility, and raises compelling new questions about civil disobedience, global justice, and Christian justifications for waging war as well as spreading world peace. It brings Christian political ethics out of the churches and seminaries to engage with today's most vexing and complex social issues. The contributors are Michael Banner, Nigel Biggar, Joseph Boyle, Michael G. Cartwright, John A. Coleman, S.J., John Finnis, Theodore J. Koontz, David Little, Richard B. Miller, James W. Skillen, and Max L. Stackhouse. "A first-rate collection of essays."---D. A. Brown, CHOICE "Obviously Christianity is a rich and diverse tradition, and this book helps to shed light on the moral and political ideals that animate Christian activists on the political left. I would strongly recommend it for anybody who wants to learn more on the topic."---Daniel A. Bell, Politics and Religion

"One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2003" Sohail H. Hashmi is Alumnae Foundation Associate Professor of International Relations at Mount Holyoke College. He is the coeditor, with David Miller, of Boundaries and Justice (Princeton) and is currently coediting, with Steven Lee, a book on ethics and weapons of mass destruction. Jack Miles is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, God: A Biography. One of the most dynamic aspects of the Islamic revival during the past two centuries has been the rethinking of Islamic political thought. A broad range of actors, ideas, and ideologies characterize the debate on how Islamic ethics and law should be manifested in modern institutions. Yet this aspect of the "return to Islam" has been neglected by policymakers, the media, and even many scholars, who equate "political Islam" with merely one strand, labeled "Islamic fundamentalism." Bringing together ten essays from six volumes of the Ethikon Series in Comparative Ethics, this book gives a rounded treatment to the subject of Islamic political ethics. The authors explore the Islamic ethics of civil society, boundaries, pluralism, and war and peace. They consider questions of diversity, discussing, among other subjects, Islamic regimes' policies regarding women and religious minorities. The chapters on war and peace take up such crucial and timely issues as the Islamic ethics of jihad, examining both the legitimate conditions for the declaration of war and the proper conduct of war. In their discussions, the contributors analyze the works of classical writers as well as the full range of modern reinterpretations. But beyond these analyses of previous and contemporary thinkers, the essays also reach back to the two fundamental sources of Islamic ethics--the Qur'an and traditions of the Prophet--to develop fresh insights into how Islam and Muslims can contribute to human society in the twenty-first century. The authors are Dale F. Eickelman, Hasan Hanafi, Sohail H. Hashmi, Farhad Kazemi, John Kelsay, Muhammad Khalid Masud, Sulayman Nyang, Bassam Tibi, and M. Raquibuz Zaman. From the foreword by Jack Miles: "Western foreign ministers and secretaries of state may have to learn a little theology if the looming clash between embattled elements both in the West and in the Muslim umma is to yield to disengagement and peaceful coexistence, to say nothing of fruitful collaboration. . . . It is, then, no idle academic exercise that the thinkers whose work is collected here have in hand. The long-term practical importance of their work can scarcely be overstated." "While the jihad and civil society material have been covered elsewhere in detail, it is convenient to have these discussions brought together in one volume, and some of the ethical questions in particular break new ground."---Omid Safi, Religious Studies Review

Michael Walzer is a permanent member at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. He is the author of The Revolution of the Saints, Just and Unjust Wars, Spheres of Justice, Toleration, and Politics and Passion. Jewish legal and political thought developed in conditions of exile, where Jews had neither a state of their own nor citizenship in any other. What use, then, can this body of thought be today to Jews living in Israel or as emancipated citizens in secular democratic states? Can a culture of exile be adapted to help Jews find ways of being at home politically today? These questions are central in Law, Politics, and Morality in Judaism, a collection of essays by contemporary political theorists, philosophers, and lawyers. How does Jewish law accommodate--or fail to accommodate--the practice of democratic citizenship? What range of religious toleration and pluralism is compatible with traditional Judaism? What forms of coexistence between Jews and non-Jews are required by shared citizenship? How should Jews operating within halakha (Jewish law) and Jewish history judge the use of force by modern states? The authors assembled here by prominent political theorist Michael Walzer come from different points on the religious-secular spectrum, and they differ greatly in their answers to such questions. But they all enact the relationship at issue since their answers, while based on critical Jewish texts, also reflect their commitments as democratic citizens. The contributors are Michael Walzer, David Biale, the late Robert M. Cover, Menachem Fisch, Geoffrey B. Levey, David Novak, Aviezer Ravitzky, Adam B. Seligman, Suzanne Last Stone, and Noam J. Zohar. "This volume provides the reader with clear and penetrating discussion of such problems and suggests various models for how to conduct inquiry into them."---Michael L. Morgan, History of Political Thought

Richard Madsen is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author or coauthor of ten books, including Morality and Power in a Chinese Village. Tracy B. Strong is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego, and former Editor of Political Theory. He has published seven books, among them Friedrich Nietzsche and the Politics of Transformation. The war on terrorism, say America's leaders, is a war of Good versus Evil. But in the minds of the perpetrators, the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington were presumably justified as ethically good acts against American evil. Is such polarization leading to a violent "clash of civilizations" or can differences between ethical systems be reconciled through rational dialogue? This book provides an extraordinary resource for thinking clearly about the diverse ways in which humans see good and evil. In nine essays and responses, leading thinkers ask how ethical pluralism can be understood by classical liberalism, liberal-egalitarianism, critical theory, feminism, natural law, Confucianism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Each essay addresses five questions: Is the ideal society ethically uniform or diverse? Should the state protect, ban, or otherwise intervene in ethically based differences? How should disagreements on the rights and duties of citizens be dealt with? Should the state regulate life-and-death decisions such as euthanasia? To what extent should conflicting views on sexual relationships be accommodated? This book shows that contentious questions can be discussed with both incisiveness and civility. The editors provide the introduction and Donald Moon, the conclusion. The contributors are Brian Barry, Joseph Boyle, Simone Chambers, Joseph Chan, Christine Di Stefano, Dale F. Eickelman, Menachem Fisch, William Galston, John Haldane, Chandran Kukathas, David Little, Muhammad Khalid Masud, Carole Pateman, William F. Scheuerman, Adam B. Seligman, James W. Skillen, James Tully, and Lee H. Yearley. "The overall product is a collection of viewpoints that, thanks to each writer's care in defining their terms and steering clear of jargon, is accessible to the beginning scholar. . . . [T]he choice of controversies that are both enduring and ethically troubling means that the interest of all readers will be held throughout the book."---Bruce F. Nesmith, Perspectives on Political Science " Contributors include well-known, top-notch scholars like William A. Galston, Brian Barry, and James Tully. An extraordinarily well organized collection, its chapters cover nine nonsecular and secular ethical perspectives." "This thoughtful, lively book will animate and advance a debate of great value to us as citizens as well as scholars. Can we grasp the moral order of the world we inhabit-and its conflicts and disorder, too-in terms of coherent ethical traditions, lawful visions, and modes of reasoning? In doing so, can we critically embrace the different laws and ways of knowing institutionalized in the separate spheres of modern social life, and the contrary traditions, sacred and secular, of a multicultural world both expanded and shrunk by its global interdependence? These engaging essays shed new light on how to shape and wrestle with such questions across the usual boundaries of moral and social philosophy, religious ethics, and the social sciences."-Steven Tipton, Emory University, author of Getting Saved from the Sixties "I'm glad I read this book (and took some useful notes). I learned a great deal and so, I suspect, will other readers in such areas as ethics and political philosophy."-John Coleman, Loyola Marymount University, author of Religion and Nationalism