CFP: World Philosophies and War

Call for Papers

World Philosophies and War

Edited by Bassam Romaya and Eric S. Nelson

(University of Massachusetts Lowell)

Book chapters are solicited for a volume featuring global perspectives in the philosophical analysis of war. We seek papers that examine philosophical themes and perspectives on various aspects of war originating outside of the Western canon. The editors are especially interested in works that depart from or extrapolate upon existing philosophical frameworks (such as the just war tradition, war realism, etc.) commonly examined in Western philosophical literature on war. Prospective contributors may draw upon ancient sources (e.g., Sun Tzu’s Art of War) or contemporary works, literate or oral traditions, and secular or religious/philosophical schools of thought across global traditions. We seek papers that explore competing philosophies of war found in dominant world traditions such as Chinese, Indian, or Muslim, as well as the full range of disparate traditions (e.g., Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, Sikh, Confucian, et cetera) within the more dominate traditions. Submissions that draw from the cultural productions of African, Latin American, Indigenous societies, and other traditions are especially welcome.

While global accounts are frequently marginalized within broader philosophical analyses of war, we intend for this collection to make an important and timely contribution to the growing literature on war and world philosophical traditions. We seek papers from a variety of philosophical approaches but also welcome submissions with interdisciplinary perspectives.

Possible paper topics may include but are not limited to:

*  Approaches to war in the Bhagavad Gita, Daodejing, Ramayana, or other classic texts

*  Case studies of a contemporary conflict informed by a world tradition on war

*  The moral status of civilians or noncombatants among global traditions

*  Different or ambiguous roles of war actors vis-à-vis world philosophical traditions

*  The ethical impact of contemporary wars on societies involved in them

*  Ideas on technological development in war informed by one or more world tradition

*  The notion of identity-based conflicts, globalization, or economic dimensions of war

*  Global perspectives emphasizing an alternative to Clausewitzian models of war

*  Conflicting notions of peace in light of global thought on war

*  An account of global theory/ies of war in the work of an individual philosopher or philosophical school

*  The status of or challenges to international law in virtue of alternative accounts of war

*  Challenges to conventional just war frameworks in non-Western traditions

*  The idea of state borders or the traversing of state lines in global traditions

*  Ideas of collective punishment, ethnic cleansing, genocide, or state/non-state terrorism informed by non-Western traditions

Submission Guidelines:  

1) Interested contributors are invited to submit (a) completed papers of approximately 6,000-8,000 words, along with a 150-200 word abstract, or (b) an extended abstract of 500 to 700 words in lieu of a completed paper.

2) Please include a current CV or short bio with your submission and send your material in a Word or PDF file by email to: Bassam_Romaya@uml.edu.

3) The submission deadline for complete papers or extended abstracts is: November 1, 2014.

Please direct inquiries to Bassam Romaya at Bassam_Romaya@uml.edu

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.