Agency and Ethics: The Politics of Military Intervention

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments This book, like any other, is the product of many helping hands. While those I mention here played an obvious role, others I have inadvertently forgotten have been just as instrumental. When this book, in a much different form, began as a dissertation, friends at Johns Hopkins University were extremely generous in discussing its ideas or reading chapters: David Bernell, Martha Bishai, Stephan Cornellis, Douglas Dow, James Marino, Char Miller, Carol Pech, Jason Phillips, and Ward Thomas. Conversations and debates with Jim Marino and Char Miller have been exceptionally helpful, as has been their friendship. Friends at other institutions who have read or discussed the ideas include Matthew Slaughter and Kenneth Scheve. Academics at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have played a key role in sparking my interest in these ideas and helping to bring them to fruition: Thomas Berger, William Connolly, Benjamin Ginsberg, Siba Grovugui, Cynthia Weber, and Alexander Wendt all read sections and commented on them. Four individuals in particular deserve mention. David Campbell’s seminars prompted many of the questions raised here and his ideas continue to challenge my thinking. Nicholas Onuf, whom I met through a symposium on international relations theory, was kind enough to read large sections of the theoretical chapters and make exceedingly useful comments. His willingness to read the work of someone not his own student and his hospitality in Florida reassured me that scholars of international relations can “construct” a world that stretches beyond institutional boundaries. Richard Flathman piqued my interest in one of the two political theorists whose work informs this essay, Hannah Arendt. His reading of this book qua dissertation greatly improved its theoretical rigor and analytic clarity. Even more so, his patience with a student of international relations assuaged many of my concerns upon venturing into the realms of political philosophy. Steven David played an invaluable role in this work. xi He introduced me to the classical realist scholarship that informs much of this essay, and his readings of my work forced me to clarify my tortured prose, reminding me that a study of international politics must not only speak to fellow academics but a wider audience as well. And while he remains skeptical of conclusions that veer toward the moralistic, he is a realist who understands the moral concerns of everyday citizens. His example as a scholar, department chair, and policy analyst exemplify the highest standards of the profession of political science, standards that I can only hope to someday match. Once this work left the dissertation stage, it was helped along by many others. As an assistant professor at the American University in Cairo (AUC), I found an atmosphere supportive of my research and amenable to the interchange of ideas. I was given grants to do research at archives in London, Paris, and Washington, DC, for which I thank the university administration and the Political Science Department. Members of the university community who were helpful in discussing ideas and reading sections of the manuscript include Jean Allain, Liz Cooper, Bahgat Korany, John Murray, and Kurt Mills. Two colleagues at AUC deserve special mention : Tim Sullivan, now University Provost, has been an extremely supportive mentor. His example as a teacher, scholar, and administrator convinced me that professors can only succeed if they recognize the importance of their students. Bill Demars, a fellow assistant professor, has been willing to discuss the ideas presented here, and many others, with a rigor and enthusiasm that I have failed to find elsewhere. His friendship helped sustain both me and this book throughout the four years I spent in Egypt. In my current position at the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, I have found further support. Jenny Ruzow, Joel Rosenthal, Christian Barry and Paige Arthur have read sections of this book and greatly improved its contents. Eva Becker, the Vice President of the Council , was instrumental in providing the support I needed to put the finishing touches on the manuscript. My students have been the best critics of this work. Students in my classes on Ethics and International Affairs at The Johns Hopkins University and The American University in Cairo demanded explanations of how norms could possibly play any role in a world they see as shaped by power politics. The idealism and enthusiasm of students in the Model United Nations and Model Arab League Programs at AUC have given me hope that we will come up with new ways to solve international dilemmas , even though this work may seem to...