The Universal Grammar of the Laws of War: A Theory of Moral Discourse and International Norms

In contemporary political science, many international relations scholars presume that normative restrictions on military violence in world politics are an outgrowth of Western liberal modernity. Indeed, humanitarian norms such as the Geneva Conventions are comparatively recent in world politics, and many political scientists claim that they are a manifestation of new norms of appropriateness in international society. Drawing on historical evidence which suggests that political actors in Ancient China, the early Islamic empire, early medieval Europe, and modern international society all endorsed similar normative ideas for protecting the victims of war, I claim that humanitarian protection norms are fairly common in the history of advanced civilizations, more common than most political scientists have recognized. For political science, these findings raise an important puzzle: how do we explain why similar moral ideas emerge in very different cultural and material contexts? Extant theories of international norms are not well suited to answer this question because they assume that the initial development of norms is a random process that depends upon human agency, historical contingencies, and the existing material and ideational structure of international society. But if similar norms of war tend to emerge in different social contexts, then the initial factors that prompt the development of international norms may not be all that random after all. To explain how similar norms emerge in dissimilar material and cultural contexts, I argue that the laws of war are rooted in a universal moral psychology, or what some theorists call a “universal grammar” of moral discourse. Importantly, this argument implies that the development of modern humanitarian laws and human rights norms was in some sense inevitable: although history could have turned out differently, people tend to have strong psychological reactions to the pain and suffering of war, and these reactions lead them to create more humane international institutions when the opportunities for social change arise.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Political Science

Grantor dc:publisher

The Ohio State University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Traven, David J.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Wendt, Alexander

• Political Science

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1355489166

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:osu1355489166