1st Edition
Politics and the General in Supreme Command Law Reform and Averting Unjust War
This book argues for reform of the convention that, when politicians decide on a course of action, the general in supreme command obeys without question.
The entire spread-out chain of command is unified in the general, who offers the only connection between the military and politics. Offering the sole connection between the military and politics, only the general can turn political directions into military command and capacitate war. Thus, the general has unique opportunity to resist unconscionable direction to launch an unjust war or to conduct or expand war unjustly. This book argues for reform, so the general has the right in law to refuse direction, which is lawful, but awful. The legal capacity to refuse would mean the general would be expected to act responsibly, not merely as the unresisting pawn of politics. Such reform, creating legal opportunity for the supreme command to refuse lawful but unconscionable directives, might avert unjust war.
This book will be of much interest to students of the ethics of war, civil-military relations, and International Relations.
Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: What’s Been Said - scholarship has paid insufficient attention to the general Chapter Three: Law and War - law cannot capture war’s moral complexity Chapter Four: Liberalism and Law - the risk in law’s overstatement Chapter Five: Conscience - some things will be morally impossible Chapter Six: For All of Us, As One of Us - the general is equal as a citizen Chapter Seven: More Than a Postman - the general's singular burden Chapter Eight: Let the General Say No - moral space in the shadow of law Chapter Nine: Conclusion
Biography
Richard Adams is a commander in the Royal Australian Navy. He has doctorates from the University of Western Australia and the University of New South Wales.
'Sometimes problems are disagreeable, and it is impossible to do as one would wish. But law should offer an opportunity to decide, to act responsibly with the best intention. Speaking of the supreme command, Adams makes this case clearly.'
Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, AO, CSC, Royal Australian Navy (ret’d) Chief of Navy 2014–2018
