
Contents
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1 The Question of Definition 1 The Question of Definition
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2 The Centrality of Justice 2 The Centrality of Justice
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2.1 Interest 2.1 Interest
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2.2 Agreement 2.2 Agreement
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2.3 Rights 2.3 Rights
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2.4 Morality 2.4 Morality
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2.5 Justice 2.5 Justice
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3 Justice and Pluralism 3 Justice and Pluralism
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4 Justice and Inequality 4 Justice and Inequality
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5 Justice and War 5 Justice and War
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6 Issues and Agendas 6 Issues and Agendas
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References References
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34 International Ethics
Get accessTerry Nardin is Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore.
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Published:02 September 2009
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Abstract
This article provides both an overview of the field of international ethics and an argument for rethinking its identity and foundations. It begins with its present identity as a branch of applied ethics and considers some disadvantages of that identity, which invites too easy a transition from the realm of personal morality to the realm of politics, and which alternative labels such as ‘global’ or ‘cosmopolitan’ ethics do little to overcome. It takes up the question of foundations, arguing that a coherent theory of international ethics that acknowledges the claims of politics must rest on the idea of justice as properly enforceable obligations — a claim defended by examining the ideas of interest, agreement, rights, and morality as foundational alternatives to the idea of justice. This conception of justice is then used to illuminate some key topics in international ethics: the pluralism of a world divided not only into legally autonomous states but also along religious, ethnic, and other lines; the inequalities of a world divided between rich and poor; and the insecurity of a world in which war remains endemic and inescapable. The article concludes by suggesting how attention to the history of political thought and comparative ethics can make the study of international ethics more critical and autonomous. Focusing on justice as enforceable obligations can help the field move past dead-end debates over cosmopolitanism to acquire a coherent identity as concerned with freedom, coercion, law, and politics.
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