Highlighting the just war tradition in historical perspective, this valuable study looks at contemporary implications drawn out in the context of several important contemporary debates: within the field of religion, including both Christian and Islamic thought; within the field of debate related to the international law of armed conflicts; within the field of policy relating to the use of armed force where the issue is just war thinking vs. realism; and debates over pressing contemporary issues in the ethics of war which cross disciplinary lines.

Just war idea in historical tradition and current debate --Just war : breaking the tradition -- Just war and Jihad : two traditions on the use of force -- Tracing the contours of the Jihad of individual duty in Islamic juristic tradition -- Grotius' use of history and charity in the modern transformation of the just war idea -- Looking back as a way of going forward : just war tradition and international law -- Moral judgment in international affairs : the limits of realism -- Reinhold Niebuhr's Christian realism and the idea of just war -- Idea of defense in historical and contemporary thinking about just war -- Contemporary warfare and the challenge to efforts at restraint -- Use of armed force and the goal of peace.