What is really going on? Narratives and ethical as-sessments in recent Anglophone debates over peace and war

Abstract

This paper presents a range of contemporary views about just war theory, nonviolence, and nuclear deterrence, to illustrate how moral judgments depend upon empirical assessments of what is going on in the world. Given the complexity of modern violence, advocates of both pacifism and just war theory acknowledge that it is impossible to find a moral stance that avoids all complicity with violence. Yet nonviolent approaches, if used ethically, can offer hope for more authentically Christian – and also more effective – ways of pursuing peace with justice.