Ethics Education for Irregular Warfare

Following on from Ethics Education in the Military (eds. Paul Robinson, Nigel de Lee and Don Carrick: Ashgate 2008) which surveyed and critically analyzed the existing theory and practice of educating soldiers, sailors and airmen in the ethics of 'old fashioned' warfaring, this volume considers the extent to which such theory and practice is adequate to prepare members of the military to meet the more complex ethical challenges faced when engaging in irregular warfare in the 21st century. In recent years, events in Iraq and Afghanistan have highlighted the requirement that Western military personnel, drawn from the armed forces of many different countries, should behave in an ethical manner at all times. The contributors to this volume come from various disciplinary backgrounds, several are serving or former military officers and most are actively engaged in ethics education. The volume advances theoretical understanding of different approaches to ethics education and provides practical conclusions.

Contents: Foreword, George R. Lucas Jr; Introduction: ethics education for irregular warfare, Paul Robinson; Part 1 The Theoretical Background: Preserving soldiers' moral character in counter-insurgency operations, H.R. McMaster; The philosophical warrior, Alexander Moseley; Culture centric warfare: the moral dynamics, Patrick Mileham. Part 2 Operational Issues: Preventing torture in counter-insurgency operations, Jessica Wolfendale; The fall of the warrior king: situational ethics in Iraq, Paul Robinson; Military ethics of facing fellow citizens: IDF preparations for disengagement, Asa Kasher. Part 3 Pedagogical Issues: Teaching military ethics in the United States Air Force: challenges posed by service culture, Martin Cook; Counter-insurgency ethics at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Stephen Deakin; International law and the ethics of war at the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College, David Whetham; Ethics education for operations other than war: the Dutch approach, Peter Olsthoorn; Index.

Don Carrick, Project Director of the Military Ethics Education Network, Institute of Applied Ethics, University of Hull, UK; James Connelly, Professor of Politics, University of Hull, UK and Paul Robinson, Professor in Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa, Canada.