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2 - Lesser Angels

Moral Condemnation and Binding Morality in International Relations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2023

Brian C. Rathbun
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
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Summary

The focus on cosmopolitan humanitarianism obscures the totality of morality in international politics, leaving the empirical study of morality in IR with two central blindspots. First, it focuses on moral conscience – our desire to do good for others – to the neglect of moral condemnation, our response to the perceived unethical behavior of others, not only against third parties but also against ourselves. In both everyday life and IR, the response is generally to morally condemn, and often to punish and retaliate. Second, the IR ethics and morality literature have not come to terms with moral principles that operate at the group level, binding groups together. When “our” group is engaged in conflict with another, we owe the group our loyalty and defer to group authorities out of moral obligation. These “binding foundations” are particularly important for IR since foreign affairs are a matter of intergroup interaction. Together this means that groups, bound by moral commitment, do not compete with others in an amoral sphere in which ethics stops at the water’s edge. Once we cast our moral net more widely, we realize that morality is everywhere, more striking in the breach than the observance.

Type
Chapter
Information
Right and Wronged in International Relations
Evolutionary Ethics, Moral Revolutions, and the Nature of Power Politics
, pp. 31 - 64
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Lesser Angels
  • Brian C. Rathbun, University of Southern California
  • Book: Right and Wronged in International Relations
  • Online publication: 29 July 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009344722.002
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  • Lesser Angels
  • Brian C. Rathbun, University of Southern California
  • Book: Right and Wronged in International Relations
  • Online publication: 29 July 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009344722.002
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Lesser Angels
  • Brian C. Rathbun, University of Southern California
  • Book: Right and Wronged in International Relations
  • Online publication: 29 July 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009344722.002
Available formats
×