Berkley Center

Announcing the 2019 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellow | Policy White Papers | Refugee Education: March Newsletter - https://mailchi.mp/georgetown/religion-and-modern-social-issues-religious-actors-and-famine-and-faith-and-the-human-experience-january-newsletter-3489 …

Congratulations to Senior Fellow @jocelyne_cesari on receiving an award at #isa2019 for her book on political Islam!https://twitter.com/jocelyne_cesari/status/1111084085659795457 …

Are you at #ISA2019? You can hear Berkley Center fellows @jocelyne_cesari and @pmandaville speak today, as well as on Friday and Saturday. Check the schedule for more information: http://ow.ly/YsSh30odwtN .https://twitter.com/jocelyne_cesari/status/1110953787081089025 …

Q: How do we reconcile past uses of just war principles to justify atrocities? A: The book does identify where the United States has got things wrong, and the way we know is by using just war criteria.

Q: Does just war indicate that our spending priorities be adjusted to commit more to diplomacy to make sure war is truly a last resort? A: Just war ultimately has peace as its goal, which recognizes war as part of the statecraft spectrum/a difference between force and violence.

Patterson: The frontiers of just war theory today are... 1. Just authority in a chaotic, insecure world 2. The use of instantaneous, logorithmic forms of technology (drones, etc.) 3. Jus post bellum: stabilization and reconstruction after war.

Q: Should I have had the day off of school for Patriot Day when I was growing up in Massachusetts? A: One of the ways to learn the lessons of war is to enact civic memorials. That's something I would argue the United States hasn't done well for troops engaged since 9/11.

Patterson: When considering nuclear weapons, legitimate authority is a key starting principle. In the book I also look at just cause in WWII and deterrence during the Cold War.

Patterson: Though the criteria are subjective, the fact that nefarious individuals try to use just war principles to justify their actions demonstrates that there is some sense of common morality.

Q: You've described substantive criteria but at its founding the United States tried to substitute procedural criteria A: Transparency/press/government checks & balances act as brakes on war. The Uniform Code of Military Justice is also an example of embodied just war principles

Patterson: Every conflict has a lot of human emotions in it. In the classical Christian just war tradition there is a lot on helping soldiers avoid the bitterness and hatred that could push people to launch/continue a war out of vengeance.

Patterson: As an Air Force reserve officer, I believe that the logic that to continue a war to honor this who died before doesn't make sense. There are other ways to show honor that better align with just war's moral reasoning.

Patterson: Was it just for American presidents to go to/prolong the war in Vietnam? Stated goals were containing communism, demonstrating U.S. resolve to allies, and extending democracy. These were just, but unstated issues of ego/national honor complicate the overall evaluation.

Patterson: At World War I's end France wanted retribution for past losses/wartime destruction for which they believed Germany responsible. Britain was more concerned about avoiding draconian measures that generate resentment/future war. The United States sought a new world order.

Patterson: When writing this book the United States commemorated the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 & I saw lots of commentary saying it was unnecessary. In my research I found impressment of U.S. sailors was a massive economic/human rights issue that provided casus belli.