Ethics, Security, & the War-machine: The True Cost of the Military

182 Pages·2020·1.341 MB·English

by  Ned Dobos

OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,11/4/2020,SPi
Ethics, Security, and The War-Machine
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,11/4/2020,SPi
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,11/4/2020,SPi
Ethics, Security, and
The War-Machine
The True Cost of the Military
NED DOBOS
1
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,11/4/2020,SPi
3
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OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,11/4/2020,SPi
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction 1
JusAnteBellum:JustifyingtheWar-Machine 1
Non-PacifisticAnti-Militarism 3
TheTrueCostoftheMilitary:OutlineoftheBook 9
1. Military Conditioning and Moral Damage 14
Introduction 14
MakingKillers 17
MoralInjury 22
DehumanizationDoneRight? 27
Self-ForgetfulnessandObedienceUntoDeath 32
Conclusion 39
2. The Coup Risk 40
Introduction 40
ForeignOccupation,Self-Definition,andHumanRights 42
TheCivil–MilitaryGap 46
Warrior-ClassConsciousness 51
Co-nationalityandtheHumanResponses 55
Nowhereis‘Coup-Proof’ 56
Conclusion 61
3. On Fear-Induced Aggression 62
Introduction 62
ReciprocalFearofSurpriseAttack 64
PreventiveWars 68
ANewNormativeOrder? 72
Conclusion 78
4. Cognitive Bias and the Misuse of Military Power 80
Introduction 80
OverconfidenceandReasonableProspectsofSuccess 81
TheLawoftheHammerandLastResort 86
IllusionsofControlandAccidentalCivilianCasualties 90
AttributionErrorandProportionality 96
Conclusion 101
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vi 
5. Martial Values in Civilian Life 104
Militarization 106
OfLawEnforcement 109
OfBusiness 114
OfEducation 119
Necessaryvs.SurplusMilitarization 124
Conclusion 129
Conclusion 131
Epilogue: Towards ‘Post-Military Defence’? 137
Introduction 137
CivilianDefenceSystems 139
Post-MilitaryPathologiesandAdvantages 148
Conclusion 156
Select Bibliography 157
Index 169
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,11/4/2020,SPi
Acknowledgements
Chapters of this book have been presented to academic audiences in
Australia,Japan,theUS,andEurope,andIhavehadtheopportunityto
discussthematerialinformallywithmanythoughtfulpeopleoverthelast
fewyears.Iamgratefultoeverybodythatlistenedandofferedcomments
andcriticismsalongtheway,including:AndrewAlexandra,PeterBalint,
EdBarrett,TonyCoady,ToniErskine,ChristopherFinlay,TomFrame,
LukeGlanville,MarcusHedahl,AdamHenschke,RogerHerbert,Joshua
Kassner, Brent Kyle, Judith Lichtenberg, David Luban, Joseph MacKay,
Josiah Ober, Umut Ozguc, Igor Primoratz, Neil Ramsey, David Stahel,
and Scott Sagan. Most of all I am indebted to Cheyney Ryan for his
detailedanderuditewrittenfeedbackonanearlierdraft.Alloftheusual
disclaimersapply.
I owe thanks also to the McCoy Center for Ethics in Society at
Stanford University, for hosting me as a visiting fellow while I finalised
themanuscriptin2019,andtoPeterMomtchiloffofOxfordUniversity
Press for his continued support and patience. Parts of Chapter1
appeared previously in a special issue of Philosophical Forum (vol. 46,
2015), under the title “Punishing Non-Conscientious Disobedience: Is
theMilitaryaRogueEmployer?”.Ithankthepublisherofthejournalfor
grantingpermissiontoreusethismaterial.
Thanks,finally,tomywifeKelly,forhercareandendurance.
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,11/4/2020,SPi
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,11/4/2020,SPi
Introduction
Jus Ante Bellum: Justifying the War-Machine
Ethicistsdealingwithwarandarmedconflicthaveinvestedmostoftheir
energies in two questions. First, under what circumstances is it morally
permissibleforastatetoresorttomilitaryforce?Thisisthequestionof
jusadbellum—thejusticeofwar.Second,oncehostilitiesareunderway,
howshouldcombatantsconductthemselves?Thisisthequestionof jus
inbello—justiceinwar.Inrecentyearstheinquiryhasbeenextendedto
cover justice after war (jus post bellum). Here the emphasis is on post-
warrelations,reconstruction,reparations,andsoon.¹
Thisiscertainlyapositivedevelopment,butweoughttobeextending
the inquiryin the opposite direction as well,to address questions of jus
ante bellum, or justice before war. In particular this one: Under what
circumstances is it justifiable for a polity to prepare for war by militar-
izing?When(ifever)andwhy(ifatall)isitmorallypermissibletocreate
andmaintainthepotentialtowagewar?Thisisnotaboutwhetherwar-
makingisjustified,butaboutwhetherwar-buildingisjustified.²Itisnot
about how we should use the military resources we amass; it is about
whetherweshouldbeamassingthoseresourcesinthefirstplace.Justas
theadbellumquestionasksofparticularwarswhethertheyare(orwere)
¹ SeeforinstanceBrianOrend,‘JusticeAfterWar’,EthicsandInternationalAffairs,vol.16,no.
1,March2002,pp.43–56.Thedecisiontobringanongoingwartoanend—thetransitionfrom
wartopost-war—hasalsoreceivedsomephilosophicalattentionoflate.DavidRodindiscussesit
undertheheadingjusterminatio.DarrelMoellendorfprefersjusexbello.DavidRodin,‘TheWar
Trap:DilemmasofJusTerminatio’,Ethics,vol.125,no.3,2015,pp.674–95;DarrelMollendorf,
‘JusExBello’,TheJournalofPoliticalPhilosophy,vol.16,no.2,June2008,pp.123–36.
² IowethisdistinctiontoCheyneyRyan.Seehisessay‘Pacifism’,inSethLazarandHelen
Frowe(eds.),TheOxfordHandbookofEthicsofWar,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2016,
and his article ‘Pacifism, Just War, and Self-Defense’, Philosophia, vol. 41, no. 4, 2013,
pp.977–1005.
Ethics,Security,andTheWar-Machine:TheTrueCostoftheMilitary.NedDobos,OxfordUniversityPress(2020).
©NedDobos.
DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198860518.001.0001