Striking First: Preemption and Prevention in International Conflict

Description

Does the United States have the right to defend itself by striking first, or must it wait until an attack is in progress? Is the Bush Doctrine of aggressive preventive action a justified and legal recourse against threats posed by terrorists and rogue states? This book includes responses by political theorists Richard Tuck and Jeffrey McMahan.

Michael W. Doyle is the Harold Brown Professor of International Affairs, Law, and Political Science at Columbia University. He served as assistant secretary-general and special adviser to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and is currently the chair of the U.N. Democracy Fund. His books include "Making War and Building Peace" (Princeton) and "Ways of War and Peace".

"The arguments presented are lucid, earnest, and thoughtful. Accepting that preemption might be necessary, Doyle builds on the traditional criteria to stress the importance of the lethality and likelihood of the threat and the legitimacy and legality of the response."--Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs "[Doyle] points out...the Bush doctrine is not only dangerously 'subjective' and 'open-ended' but also an 'invitation to chaos' because other states may claim the right to invoke it for their own purposes...Instead of embracing the Bush administration's radical alternative, however, Doyle calls for updating the doctrine of preemption without collapsing it into prevention."--William A. Galston, American Prospect "Striking First, which reflects both the knowledge of a distinguished scholar and the experience and judgment of a practitioner (Doyle was UN assistant secretary-general under Kofi Annan), is an indispensable book for those interested in the question of the justifiability of preventive action against future threats. Given the omnipresence of those threats, that should include all of us. Doyle's careful reasoning and balanced judgments also make this enormously thought-provoking book perfect for the classroom."--Jack S. Levy, Perspectives on Politics "Striking First highlights the dilemma that the United States confronts. Doyle has contributed a thoughtful and significant work to the jus ad bellum conundrum that will surely fuel further useful debate."--Davis R. Robinson, American Journal of International Law "Doyle's book is relatively short but it contains substantial power and a tremendous amount of food for thought. It leads the reader into his/her own debate on the merits of the Bush Doctrine and how the world may be fundamentally altered by it, for better or for worse."--Steve Dobransky, International Journal on World Peace