Just war theory in comparative perspective - A review essay (An organized reassessment of current Christian and Islamic attitudes toward holy war andpolitical violence)

The late twentieth century has provided both reasons and occasions for reas sessing just war theory as an organizing framework for the moral analysis o f war. Books by G. Scott Davis, James T. Johnson, and John Kelsay, together with essays by Jeffrey Stout, Charles Butterworth, David Little, Bruce Law rence, Courtney Campbell, and Tamara Sonn, signal a remarkable shift in war studies as they enlarge the cultural lens through which the interests and forces at play in political violence are identified and evaluated. In his r eview of the contribution made by these texts, the author focuses on the co hesion of just war theory, the asymmetry between Christian and Islamic atti tudes toward holy war, and the need to develop just war theory into a tool adequate to assist in the moral evaluation of violent conflicts within, not just between, nation-states.