The Ethics of War in Asian Civilizations

A Comparative Perspective

This book explores how issues of ethics in war and warfare have been treated by major ethical traditions of Asia. It opens a discussion about whether there are universal standards in the ideologies of warfare between the major religious traditions of the world.

While the chapters are written by specialists in Asian cultures, some of the conceptual apparatus is drawn from the scholarly discourse on just war, developed in the study of the ethical tradition of Christianity. Taking a comparative approach, the book looks at six different Asian religious, philosophical and political traditions: Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, China and Japan; and is organized according to geography. This innovative approach opens a new field of research on war and ideology, and extends the debate on modern warfare, universalism and human rights.