10. Cian O’Driscoll - A Philosopher’s Take on Just War Theory

My guest today is Cian O’Driscoll. He is originally from Limerick, in the Southwest of Ireland where he completed his schooling and undergraduate degree, before moving to Nova Scotia, and then Wales, for Grad School. He completed his PhD at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and worked at the University of Glasgow before joining the Australian National University, Canberra in 2020. 

His principal area of research is the intersection between normative international relations theory and the history of political thought, with a particular focus on the ethics of war.

His published work examines the development of the just war tradition over time and the role it plays in circumscribing contemporary debates about the rights and wrongs of warfare. These themes are reflected in his two monographs: Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Just War (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019) and The Renegotiation of the Just War Tradition (New York: Palgrave, 2008).

Cian has also co-edited three volumes and his work has been published in leading journals in the field, including International Studies Quarterly, the European Journal of International Relations, the Journal of Strategic Studies, the Journal of Global Security Studies, Review of International Studies, Ethics & International Affairs, and Millennium.

Some of the topics we covered today are:

• Cian’s research on the narratives that the Bush and Blair administrations used to frame the 2003 war in Iraq
• Reflections on the widening of the jus ad bellum (justifications for war) since the end of the Cold War and its consequences
• Exploration of Gulf War 1 as a ‘just war’ and the potential irony of its aftermath
• The inability of Just War Theory, try hard as it might, to sanitise war
• The challenge faced by military leaders when wrestling with Just War Theory
• ‘Just War is just war’

I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion with Cian, and hope you do as well. I recently finished his book that we frequently mention, Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Just War, and can warmly recommend it to anyone contemplating the complexities of Just War Theory—the principle tool used by Western militaries to manage conflict.