Law Commons^™

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

In the months preceding the U.S. presidential election in November 2004, George Bush and John Kerry conducted what passed for a serious debate on U.S. foreign policy, especially the rationale for the war in Iraq and on the state of the "war on terror." It was easy to lose sight of the primary purpose of these two special issues of the New England Journal of Public Policy on war. So I should, perhaps, remind our readers.

The question posed was: what lessons can we draw from the wars and conflicts of the twentieth century that might help us to take …

War Is The American Way Of Life, Paul L. Atwood

New England Journal of Public Policy

The war against terror following the September 11 attack is in keeping with the long history of American foreign policy. Various “doctrines” issued by one president after another since the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 are really incremental expansions of that original statement of hemispheric dominance aimed at encompassing the entire globe. The westward expansion to the Pacific coast and beyond to the Philippines, Hawaii, and the interventions in the nations of Latin America are early stages in the development of American hegemony. After intervening in the First World War, Wilson tried to dictate the peace. The rest of the century …

Globalization: New Challenges, Cornelio Sommargua, Robert Jackson, Ramu Damodaran, Philip Bobbitt

New England Journal of Public Policy

From the EPIIC Symposium at Tufts University. These articles speak about topics on war and the effects that the UN has on it, sovereignity, and human rights to name a few.

War & Public Health In The Twenty-First Century, Barry S. Levy, Victor W. Sidel

New England Journal of Public Policy

War has profound adverse effects on public health. War leads to death for military personnel and especially for civilians, long-term physical and psycho- logical consequences to survivors, destruction of sociocultural and ambient environments, and diversion of needed resources. In addition, war legalizes and promotes violence as a mode of solving problems. These and related issues relating to war in the twenty-first century are analyzed in this paper. The authors discuss several approaches to preventing war and minimizing its consequences on health — including addressing the underlying problems that often lead to war, promoting a culture of peace, and controlling weapons.

The Logic Of Peace, Jonathan Schell

New England Journal of Public Policy

Jonathan Schell’s The Unconquerable World points the way out of the devastation of the twentieth century toward another, more peaceful path. And his investigations into the great nonviolent events of modern times — from Gandhi’s independence movement in India to the explosion of civic activity that brought about the surprising collapse of the Soviet Union — suggest foundations of an entirely new kind on which to construct an enduring peace. As Schell makes clear, all-out war, with its risk of human extinction, must cease to play the role of final arbiter. “The Logic of Peace,” printed here, is the final …