Political Pacifism

Alexandra, Andrew

doi:10.5840/soctheorpract200329428

Cited by 13 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Instead, their view of war is so comprehensively determined by a recognition of its devastating effects that any specific war has to be opposed. This opposition gives rise to a political rendition of pacifism (Alexandra 2003; Holmes 1999; 2015; Ryan 2015).…”

Section: Pacifism and Just War Theory: A Family Constellationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peace as a Minor, Grounded Utopia: On Prefigurative and Testimonial Pacifism

Thaler¹

2019

Perspect. polit.

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A common complaint about pacifism holds that it is utopian, in a pejorative sense. The worry can take various forms and directions, but when it is couched in terms of just war theory it usually includes accusations of pacifism’s immorality, inconsistency and impracticality. Contemporary defenders of pacifism have responded to this complaint by delineating a highly sophisticated, empirically informed account of pacifism that foregrounds its real-world effectiveness. This article takes a different route to vindicating pacifism via a more nuanced picture of what is specifically utopian about it. I propose that peace, in at least some of its guises, can be described as a minor, grounded utopia; it is a desire for an alternative future without war and violence, whose pursuit blurs the boundaries between thought and action. Reconstructing both prefiguration and testimony as practical modes of this kind of pacifism, I maintain that minor, grounded utopias are sites rife with conflict and contestation.

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Section: Pacifism and Just War Theory: A Family Constellationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peace as a Minor, Grounded Utopia: On Prefigurative and Testimonial Pacifism

Thaler¹

2019

Perspect. polit.

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“…The pacifist ethos, informed by classical realist thought, might in this sense be understood as ‘a sub-optimal yet beneficial normative vision – an exercise of creative potential meant to responsibly limit excess but not all alternatives’ (Hom and Steele, 2010: 285). In developing the idea of a pacifist ethos, I intend to provide a richer theoretical grounding for some of the existing work on pacifism that gestures toward the need for greater credibility (Howes, 2009) or political engagement (Alexandra, 2003; Mantena, 2012; Ott, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peace without perfection: The intersections of realist and pacifist thought

Moses¹

2017

Cooperation and Conflict

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It is common in international relations thought to view realism and pacifism as lying at opposite ends of a spectrum on the permissibility of war. Pacifism, from this point of view, is necessarily antithetically opposed to and incompatible with realist thinking on the use of force. This article aims to counter this view and raise some critical questions concerning the incompatibilities of realism and pacifism through an examination of some points at which they may be seen to intersect. In pursuing these intersections, the first part of the article sets out the foundations of classical realist thought, focusing on the inherently conflictual depiction of human nature as the basis for a theory that insists upon the inescapable possibility of political violence. It then departs from the conventional narrative by setting out the intersections of pacifist and realist thought concerning the illogical and dangerous attempts to moralise war-fighting through the application of just war theory. Finally, it is proposed that a synthesis of some elements of pacifist and realist thought could lead to the development of new theories and strategies attuned to the promotion of non-violence in an inherently unstable and conflict-prone world.

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Justifying Violence, War, and Cosmic War

2014

The Justification of Religious Violence

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Political Pacifism

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

Peace as a Minor, Grounded Utopia: On Prefigurative and Testimonial Pacifism

Peace as a Minor, Grounded Utopia: On Prefigurative and Testimonial Pacifism

Peace without perfection: The intersections of realist and pacifist thought

Justifying Violence, War, and Cosmic War

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