Faculty Publications

Books

David Cortright, A Peaceful Superpower: The Movement against War in Iraq (Goshen, Indiana; Fourth Freedom Forum, 2004).

On February 15, 2003, over ten million people participated worldwide in demonstrations against war on Iraq. Author David Cortright writes as an engaged activist who was intimately involved in organizing many of the protest actions occurring worldwide. He helped create the Win Without War coalition, wrote articles and reports challenging the justification for war, and participated in numerous efforts to oppose the war. This is the story of that movement.

Chapters

Scott Appleby, “The Unholy Uses of the Apocalyptic Imagination: Twentieth Century Patterns,” in Apocalypse and Violence, Abbas Amanat and John J. Collins, eds. (The Yale Center for International Area Studies, The Council on Middle East Studies: 2004), pp. 69-87.

How do radical groups such as Al-Qaeda justify violence against innocents, which bursts the seams of “just war” or the rules of Jihad? The author examines what might be called the fundamentalist apocalyptic imagination as it is built upon, and shaped by, distinctive readings and reconstructions of the past. Along the way, he examines the link between the violence perpetrated by religious extremists and their apocalyptic visions of time and time beyond time.

Oliver Williams, C.S.C., “AIDS and Life-Saving Medicine: Responsibilities,” in Case Studies in Business Ethics, Al Gini, ed., (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004), pp. 268-277.

This case study discusses how people have increasing expectations of the role of business in society. In developing countries where HIV/AIDS is a major problem, large multinational firms have often assumed the role of providing medicines and care to those suffering from the disease. What should small- and medium-sized businesses do that may not have sufficient resources to provide such assistance?

Articles

Scott Appleby, “‘In Truth, Justice, Charity, and Liberty’: Contesting Pacem in Terris in Our Time,” Journal of Catholic Social Thought (Winter, 2004): 35-48.

The papal encyclical Pacem in Terris has weathered the passage of time, but it is also a child of its historical era. Events since 1963 in Catholic social teaching, including the emergence of “Catholic peacebuilding,” were in some ways anticipated by John XXIII. But no one living in the 1960s could have foreseen certain new realities, including the global contexts within which Catholics today work for peace.

David Cortright, “Civil Society: the ‘Other Superpower,’” Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No. 76, (March/April 2004): 40-42.

Disregarding the unprecedented scale and scope of the antiwar movement, evidenced by the largest worldwide demonstrations in history, the Bush administration rolled ahead with its planned invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The unavoidable fact, as Jonathan Schell observed, was that “the candles in windows did not stop the cruise missiles.” The antiwar movement nonetheless had significant political impact, as it forced the administration to take its case to the United Nations. Once the United Nations debate began, France, Russia, and other members of the Security Council were successful in forcing substantial changes in the first draft resolution submitted by the United States and United Kingdom in October. Security Council Resolution 1441, which was adopted in November, lacked the explicit authorization for military action that Washington and London had sought.

Alan Dowty, “Impact of the Aqsa Intifada on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” Israel Studies Forum, Volume 19, No. 2 (Spring, 2004): 9-28.

The outbreak of the Al Aqsa intifada in September 2000 was clearly a severe blow to conflict resolution efforts on the Israeli-Palestinian front. But how severe was it? Close analysis of Palestinian and Israeli thinking before and after the beginning of the intifada reveals an immense gap between the basic conceptions of the peace process on the two sides. On the other hand, close analysis of public opinion data since then shows that the gap on “final status” issues has not increased, and in some respects has even narrowed. The impact of the intifada may be limited, therefore, if the cycle of violence can be broken, the differing conceptions of the peace process reconciled, and negotiations resumed between representatives of majority opinion on both sides.

George A. Lopez and David Cortright, “Containing Iraq: Sanctions Worked,” Foreign Affairs, Volume 83, No. 4 (July/August 2004): 1-14.

Rather than analyzing what went wrong with American intelligence that should have shown only remnants of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the authors argue the need to examine what went right with U.S. policy toward Iraq between 1990 and 2003. By disregarding the success of international inspections and sanctions against Iraq, they say, Washington discarded an effective system of containment and deterrence. On the basis of such faulty intelligence and wrong assumptions, the administration launched an avoidable war.

Daniel Philpott, “The Catholic Wave,” The Journal of Democracy, Volume 15, No. 2 (April 2004): 32-46.

In the “Third Wave” of democratizations over the past 30 years or so, approximately three-fourths of democratic transitions have occurred in predominantly Catholic states. The church played a very important role in bringing about these transitions, due in large part to the evolution of its political theology towards an acceptance of democracy and human rights, especially religious freedom, culminating in the Second Vatican Council. But the Church’s influence varied. In countries such as Poland and the Philippines, it led inspiring revolutions; in others, like Argentina, it did little to effect democratization. In general, the church was most effective as a democratizer where it was most differentiated in its role and function from the state, and where its theology of democracy and human rights was most widely and deeply rooted.

Oliver Williams, C.S.C., “Shaping a High Trust Society,” Business Ethics Quarterly Volume 14, (2004): 337-343.

After the likes of Enron, Tyco, and Global Crossing, the world of business will never be quite the same. With good reason, many people are skeptical of what business leaders say and they are cynical about statements that business really wants to be a good corporate citizen. This erosion of trust leads towards more laws and regulations, and higher transaction costs. How can we begin to restore trust? Prakash Sethi has written an important book that elaborates on one way to move from a low-trust society to a high-trust one. In this article, Williams discusses that book, “Setting Global Standards: Guidelines for Creating Codes of Conduct in Multinational Corporations,” and offers some critical commentary.

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