Can war be justified? Pacifists answer that it cannot; they oppose war and advocate for nonviolent alternatives to war. But defenders of just war theory argue that in some circumstances, when the effectiveness of nonviolence is limited, wars can be justified.

Andrew Fiala is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Ethics Center at California State University, Fresno. His recent works include Seeking Common Ground: A Theist/Atheist Dialogue (with Peter Admirand, 2021), Nonviolence: A Quick Immersion, Transformative Pacifism (2020), and (as editor) The Routledge Handbook of Pacifism and Nonviolence (2018). Fiala is co-author of a widely used textbook, Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. He is the past President of Concerned Philosophers for Peace.

Jennifer Kling is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Legal Studies at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. She is the author of Racist, Not Racist, Antiracist: Language and the Dynamic Disaster of American Racism (with Leland Harper, 2022), The Philosophy of Protest: Fighting for Justice Without Going to War (with Megan Mitchell, 2021), War Refugees: Risk, Justice, and Moral Responsibility (2019), and the editor of Pacifism, Politics, and Feminism: Intersections and Innovations (2019). She is also the Executive Director of Concerned Philosophers for Peace.

Foreword: Can War Be Justified?David M. Barnes

Opening Statements

1. War Cannot Be Justified
Andrew Fiala

2. War Can Be Justified
Jennifer Kling

Round of Replies

3. Response to Kling
Andrew Fiala

4. Response to Fiala
Jennifer Kling

Concluding Arguments

5. Summary of the Argument Against War and Conclusion
Andrew Fiala

6. Summary in Defense of Just War Theory and Conclusion
Jennifer Kling