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Document Details :

Title: Secular Just War Theory and the Spectre of the Crusades
Author(s): FIALA, Andrew
Journal: Ethical Perspectives
Volume: 27    Issue: 3   Date: 2020   
Pages: 237-268
DOI: 10.2143/EP.27.3.3289199

Abstract :
Contemporary just war theory should be understood as a secular theory that no longer offers support for holy wars. But the Crusades keep coming back in strange and unfortunate ways. One reason for this is that the term ‘crusade’ has entered into ordinary discourse as a catch-all phrase for a sustained war, battle, or struggle. Another problem is nostalgia for the Crusades themselves. It is time to be done with the Crusades and to leave crusading language behind. This article criticizes contemporary appeals to the Crusades while providing a genealogy of the modern secular just war theory’s attempt to exorcise the crusading spirit.

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