Just and unjust peace an ethic of political reconciliation

provocative and innovative....Philpott makes a compelling case for placing reconciliation at the core of our thinking about justice and for theorizing justice in a more comprehensive manner." * Ethics * Dan Philpott's Just and Unjust Peace is easily the most thorough and vigorous defense presently available of the view that peacemaking, after a period of massive political injustice, should aim not just at punishing offenders but at that far more comprehensive state of affairs that Philpott calls 'political reconciliation.' Philpott skillfully interweaves his articulation of this ethic for dealing with past injustice with careful attention to the objectionsthat might be lodged against it. What makes his discussion especially compelling, however, is that it does not remain at the theoretical level but is enriched by wide-ranging references to how states and other political entities, over the past fifty years, have in fact tried to deal with past injustices andto move forward to a just and peaceful society. * Nicholas Wolterstorff, author of Justice: Rights and Wrongs * How do we need to rethink the requirements of justice in contexts of political reconciliation? And what resources do the great theistic religions provide for the kind of rethinking that issues in effective political practice? Both for those urgently confronted by these questions and for the rest of us trying to understand their predicaments, Daniel Philpott's impressive book will be indispensable. * Alasdair MacIntyre, author of After Virtue * Philpott (God's Century) puts forth a compelling argument for a religious ethic of reconciliation to solve such political conflicts as war, genocide, and other forms of national ethnic or racial crimes. * Publishers Weekly * Daniel Philpott is quite simply the best at what he does, namely, bringing normative commitments and empirical sophistication to bear at the most vital issues of our day where religion and public life, both domestic and international, are concerned. Everything he writes deserves careful attention and he is at his best in Just and Unjust Peace." * Jean Bethke Elshtain, author of Sovereignty: God, State, and Self * A passionate and compelling defense of political reconciliation written in the spirit of some of the great peacemakers of our time. * Alex Bellamy, The Immanent Frame * Daniel Philpott's book, Just and Unjust Peace, can be regarded as a milestone for policymakers and academics looking for ways that go beyond the liberal peace frameworks. * Nukhet Sandal, The Immanent Frame * How can a society construct a better political future from the welter of claims and emotions that attend any effort to deal with past injustices? Everyone concerned with the dilemmas of peace-building will find a treasure trove of ideas and encouragement in Daniel Philpott's Just and Unjust Peace." Just and Unjust Peace is a book of optimism, of hope, of insistently seeing the glass as half full. Humane but not fatuous or sappy, it is the exit ramp off Apocalypse Highway. One wants Philpott to be right, and wishes him the best in his peacemaking efforts. We should feel grateful that there are people like him willing to take on such hard, frustrating, unglamorous work." - The New Republic Just and Unjust Peace is an important guide for responsible action in the wake of massive violations of justice. * Miroslav Volf, Books & Culture * Winner of the International Studies Association's Best Book Award in the International Ethics Section Read more...