Cian O’Driscoll

Dr Cian O’Driscoll

Mid-Career Fellow 2018-19

Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Just War

When, if ever, is a political community justified in going to war? Is there such a thing as a just war? If there is, how should it be waged? Does anything go, or must communities respect strict limitations when conducting hostilities? These are hard questions to answer. The principal conceptual framework for addressing them is the just war tradition. While its key tenets-e.g., the principles of ‘just cause’, ‘last resort’, and ‘discrimination’-are frequently invoked by today’s political and military leaders, the just war tradition boasts a long and venerable history, encompassing contributions from classical political thought, early Christian political theology, medieval chivalric thinking, early modern jurisprudence, and contemporary political philosophy.

More information

Research outcomes

O'Driscoll, C. (2019).

Victory: the triumph and tragedy of just war. Oxford University Press.

Areas of interest

International Relations History of Political Thought War & Peace Just War Just War Theory Ethics

Cohort

MCF4

Biography

Cian O’Driscoll is an Associate Professor in International Relations at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at The Australian National University. Cian joined the ANU in 2020. Prior to this, he completed his PhD at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and worked at the University of Glasgow.

His principal area of research is the intersection between normative international relations theory and the history of political thought, with a particular focus on the ethics of war.

His published work examines the development of the just war tradition over time and the role it plays in circumscribing contemporary debates about the rights and wrongs of warfare. These themes are reflected in his two monographs: Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Just War (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019) and The Renegotiation of the Just War Tradition (New York: Palgrave, 2008).

Cian has also co-edited three volumes and his work has been published in leading journals in the field, including International Studies Quarterly, the European Journal of International Relations, the Journal of Strategic Studies, the Journal of Global Security Studies, Review of International Studies, Ethics & International Affairs, and Millennium. He was the PI on an ESRC project entitled Moral Victories and was a 2019 ISRF fellow. Cian served as the Chair of the International Ethics section of the International Studies Association, 2018-2020. He is currently commencing a project on vernacular approaches to the ethics of war.

Biographical details correct as of 24.10.24