The Origins of War

"Shadles offers a new and potentially fruitful avenue for our understanding of war-and ultimately to the appreciation of a just peace. ... The book may be recommended for programs in peace studies and graduate and seminary libraries."—Patrick Hayes, Catholic Library World

"Wars are so bloody, ubiquitous, numerous, so costly on every level that people the world over, must, at some point, be moved to explore the "why" of war, which is to say its origin. What a service Shadle has done to invite and encourage this reflection. May it prove so fruitful that humanity finally outlaws war."—National Catholic Reporter

"A helpful platform for further exploration of specifically Catholic perspectives on the origins of war."—Richard Steenvoorde, Studies in Christian Ethics

"Shadle shows how ethical analyses of war in contemporary Catholicism will improve by attending to culture explicitly. This book stands apart from other recent books on Catholicism and war by engaging the modern theology of nature and grace as well as the international relations theory of constructivism. All those interested in the theology, ethics, philosophy, and politics of war and peace will find value in Shadle's potent analysis."—Brian Stiltner, associate professor of religious studies, Sacred Heart University

"With an impressive command of both the theological tradition and the relevant literature in contemporary international relations theory, Matthew Shadle offers a thoroughly theological account of the origins of war that constructively carves out a way forward beyond the liberal-conservative impasse among Catholic thinkers on the ethics of war today."—Tobias Winright, associate professor of theological ethics, Saint Louis University

"Shadle masterfully addresses the question, 'Why war?' by gleaning the first fruits from two fields: international relations theory and theological ethics. In this he represents what's best in the new generation of theological ethicists: the ability to place the social sciences in dialogue with Christian tradition in a way that is critical, creative, honest, and relevant to our time."—Mark J. Allman, associate professor of religious studies, Merrimack College, and author of Who Would Jesus Kill? War, Peace and the Christian Tradition

"Shadle's study of the origins of war in Catholic thought is an important contribution to political theology and social ethics not only because it calls attention to a frequently overlooked aspect of the moral assessment of war but also because it provides a helpful introduction for theologians to contemporary theories of international relations."—Daniel Bell Jr., associate professor theological ethics, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, and author of Just War as Christian Discipleship