Operational Ethics in Coalition Warfare: Whose Ethics Will Prevail? A Philosophical/Theological Conundrum

Abstract

The United States military operational commander of the 21st century increasingly finds himself or herself engaged in a coalition operational environment. In order to achieve unity of effort, the operational commander must resolve the dilemma of determining whose operational ethics will prevail in a multi-cultural and multi-national environment. Ethical development and biases formed may be based on theological or philosophical tenets and represent a potential area of conflict during the coalition's operational war planning and decision-making cycle. This paper examines the beliefs and attitudes towards war of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the indigenous religions of Africa; Western and Eastern philosophers, Aristotle, Mill, Confucius, Storer, and Rand to illustrate the secular aspects of ethical development; and a brief discussion of Just War theory with points of commonality articulated. The paper proposes recommendations for ensuring coalition operational ethics and issues are considered in the planning and decision-making cycle.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 13, 2002
Accession Number
ADA405892

Entities

People

  • Abigail S. Howell

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Buddhism
  • Chaplains
  • Christianity
  • Doctrine
  • Governments
  • Hinduism
  • International Law
  • International Relations
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Personality
  • Psychology
  • Religion
  • Sociopolitics
  • Students
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.