The Potential Value of the Adoption of an Aristotelian-Centred Communitarian Vocabulary: Facilitating a Character Turn

Year 2010, Volume: 9 Issue: 3, 46 - 72, 01.06.2010

Casper Hendrik Claassen

Abstract

This article sought to encourage the adoption of novel ethical approaches at the interstice between political and international relations (IR) theory, and character-based approaches in particular. It was argued that though the Fourth Debate has encouraged debate about the ethics of IR theory, surprisingly, character-based approaches have not been discussed, with communitarian and cosmopolitan performative ethics maintaining a conceptual hegemony. The concept of Jus in Bello was nominated for deconstruction since it has traditionally been understood cosmopolitan or communitarian manner based on performative ethic. An Aristotelian vocabulary was adopted in order to deconstruct the concept of Jus in Bello, with Jonathan Haidt's moral psychology, Lawrence Kohlberg's moral development psychology, Immanuel Kant's ethics, and social contract theory all being used to supplement the nominated Aristotelian reading of Jus in Bello. It was concluded that an Aristotelian reading of Jus in Bello is a viable alternative to and hence an Aristotelian vocabulary could be adopted when attempting to understand certain concepts and phenomena at the interstice between political and IR theory.

Keywords

international law, Jus in Bello, IR theory, ethics, psychology