Multilateralism, International Institutions and the Ethics of War

International institutions and multilateralism no longer occupy the central place in the ethics of war that they once did in classic writings on war and peace. Whereas Immanuel Kant placed a strong federation of states at the core of his vision for perpetual peace, much of contemporary just war theory focuses primarily on the rights and responsibilities of individuals, with states and multilateral institutions as a derivative object of interest.

However, recent events such as the US attack on Iran without UN authorization, Ukraine’s potential NATO membership as a key issue in prospective peace talks with Russia and US cuts to peace-keeping UN institutions bring questions of multilateralism back into sharp relief.