Ethics and Military Practice. This item is unavailable.Ethics and Military Practice

Democratic societies expect their armed forces to act in a morally responsible way, which seems a fair expectation given the fact that they entrust their armed forces with the monopoly of violence. However, this is not as straightforward and unambiguous as it sounds. Present-day military practices show that political assignments, social and cultural contexts, innovative technologies and organisational structures, present military personnel with questions and dilemma’s that can have far-reaching consequences for all involved – not in the last place for the soldiers themselves. A thorough training and education, in which critical thinking is developed and stimulated, seems therefore a necessary condition for morally responsible behaviour. This book aims to contribute to this form of ‘reflective practitioning’ in military practice.

Désirée Verweij (Ph.D. 1993) is professor of Philosophy and Ethics at the Netherlands Defence Academy and at the Centre for International Conflict Analysis and Management (CICAM) at Radboud University Nijmegen. Her research concerns both fundamental and applied ethics.

Peter Olsthoorn (Ph.D. 2000) is Associate Professor in Military Leadership and Ethics at the Netherlands Defence Academy. Besides leadership and ethics, he teaches on armed forces and society, war and the media, and on ethics and fundamental rights for Frontex. His research is mainly on topics such as military virtues, military medical ethics, armed drones, and the ethics of border guarding.

Eva van Baarle is assistant professor of Military Ethics and Philosophy at the Netherlands Defence Academy. In 2018, she obtained her doctorate with her research into fostering the moral competence of military personnel through ethics education. She is currently involved in the action research 'Towards a socially safe Defence culture' as project leader.