ABSTRACT
The topic of morality in the global sphere of politics is complex, confusing, controversial, and in the end, unavoidable. It is unavoidable because the undertaking of war is inconceivable in the modern world without an attendant chorus of justifying and discrediting arguments; even nondemocratic governments do not in modern times generally embark upon war without elaborate public efforts to legitimate their actions. But whether these moral and legal debates are more than mere reiterations of the rhetorical diplomacy that has evolved over the course of several centuries remains inherently uncertain and is subject to contradictory conceptual and historical modes of interpretation.
