Catherine Stanford

American Anthropological Association
  • Legitimate Authority and the Ethics of War: A Map of the Terrain
    Ethics and International Affairs 2 (31): 169-189. 2017.
    Despite a recent explosion of interest in the ethics of armed conflict, the traditional just war criterion that war be waged by a “legitimate authority” has received less attention than other components of the theory. Moreover, of those theorists who have addressed the criterion, many are deeply skeptical about its moral significance. This article aims to add some clarity and precision to the authority criterion and to debates surrounding it, and to suggest that this skepticism may be too quick.…Read more