Week 10 - Security and Ethics Flashcards

1
Q

Why can a government not wage war without public support?

A

Because the citizenry of the State must supply the necessary resources of manpower and material . Therefore, because no one wants to see their resources wasted, citizens will rightly take a less costly form than war

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Was the Hussein regime corrupt - without the assumption of Weapons of Mass Destruction?

A

Yes.

According to the Western human rights group, the regime was responsible for the murder of at least 400,000 - perhaps close to half a million - of its own people in the fifteen year from 1988 - 2003

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Outline instances when States have collaborated with terrorist groups?

A

Libya has collaborated with the IRA and Iran with Hezbollah

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is the difference between fear and suspicion?

A

The main differences is that the object should not merely be speculative, but already meditated by an enemy, somewhat developed and even impending

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What will infotech and biotech create?

A

They will create upheavals in human society, eroding human society, eroding human agency and possibly subverting human desires.

Therefore, under such conditions, liberal democracy and free market economics might become obsolete

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is the core difference between the Russian/Chinese/Cuban revolutions and the Trump and Brexit demonstrations?

A

The Russian, Chinese and Cuban revolutions were made by people who were vital to the economy but lacked political power; in 2016, Trump and Brexit were supported by many people who still enjoyed political power but feared they were losing their economic worth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Outline Israel regarding their systems of surveillance

A

Israel is a leader in the field of surveillance technology, and has created in the occupied West Bank a working prototype for a total-surveillance regime. Already today whenever Palestinians make a phone call, post something on Facebook, or travel from one city to another, they are likely to be monitored by Israeli microphones, cameras, drones, or spy software. Algorithms analyse the gathered data, helping the Israeli security forces pinpoint and neutralise what they consider to be potential threats. The Palestinians may administer some towns and villages in the West Bank, but the Israelis command the sky, the airwaves, and cyberspace. It therefore takes surprisingly few Israeli soldiers to effectively control the roughly 2.5 million Palestinians who live in the West Bank.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

In the late 20th Century, why did democracies outperform dictatorships?

A

Democracies were far better at processing information and this was because democracy distributed power to process information and make decisions among many people and institutions, whereas dictatorships concentrate information and power in one place

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What does AI allow us to do?

A

Concentrate and process enormous amounts of information centrally

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What original handicap, may benefit dictatorship’s in the 21st Century?

A

The ability to concentrate all information and power in one place may become their decisive advantage in this century

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is Deontology?

A

This is a reference to the nature of human duty and obligation. It spells out the rules that are always right for everyone to follow

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What does a Kantian approach emphasise?

A

It emphasises rules that are right because they can be, in principle, agreed on by everyone (universalism)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is consequentialism?

A

This is the judgement of actions by the desirability of their outcomes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is utilitarianism?

A

This judges acts by their expected outcomes in terms of human welfare and the ‘greatest food for the greatest number’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What are the principles of Kantism and Cosmpolitanism?

A
  1. Treating people as ends in themselves requires us to think universally and therefore restricting moral concern to members’ of one’s own state or nation renders any belief in equality incomplete
  2. A cosmopolitan commitment means one’s national identity and well - being should not come at the expense of outsiders. Therefore, obligations to friends, neighbours and fellow people, must be balanced with obligations to strangers and to humanity
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What does Cosmopolitanism include?

A

Deontology and utilitarianism

17
Q

Briefly outline the concept of Cosmopolitanism

A

Morality itself is universal and it is truly a moral code that is applicable to everyone because hat defines us morally is our humanity

18
Q

What are the three main principles of Cosmopolitanism?

A
  1. There is no good reason for ruling anyone out of ethical consideration
  2. As a consequence of being morally equal, we are obliged to do certain things but also refrain from others
  3. National membership is defensible only in so far as it serves individual needs, by providing them with a sense of belonging, identity and stability that is necessary to be a fully functioning human being
19
Q

What is Liberal Institutional Cosmopolitanism

A

Argue that justice begins with the basic structure of society, by which ‘the way in which the major social institutions distribute fundamental rights and duties and determine the division of advantages from social cooperation.

20
Q

What did Thomas Pogge argue?

A

Thomas Pogge argues that the rules of the system and basic structure of international society actively damage or disadvantage certain sectors of the economy.

Therefore, the rich have a duty to help the poor because the international order, which they largely created, is a major cause of world poverty and is more harmful than the viable alternatives. Pogge continues to argue that the rich countries are collectively responsible for about 18 million deaths from poverty each year

21
Q

How do anti - cosmopolitans view national borders?

A

Anti - cosmopolitans argue that the national boundaries provide important ethical constraints

22
Q

Outline Pluralism in regards to anti - cosmopolitanism

A

Argue that anarchy does not prevent states from agreeing to a minimal core of standards for coexistence. Enhanced with the idea that states can tolerate each other, do not impose their own views on each other, and then to a certain degree, will agree on limited harm principles

23
Q

Outline Realism in regards to anti - cosmopolitanism

A

Claim that the facts of anarchy and sovereignty mean that the only viable ethics are those of self - interest and survival. These states will typically focus on material and strategic outcomes rather than on morality. This shapes the idea that States people have a duty to their own people, and ignoring these would be a dereliction of their duty

24
Q

How does Globalisation raise ethical issues of fairness?

A

Globalisation exacerbates and intensifies the ethical dilemmas and this is because it increases the effects that different communities and individuals have on each other

25
Q

What are Positive Duties?

A

These are duties to act, or to do something. They are duties of assistance i.e. humanitarianism involves a positive duty to aid those in need or who are suffering

26
Q

What are Negative Duties?

A

When we stop doing something - we will usually stop doing these duties because we do not want to harm others

27
Q

What does Peter Singer argue?

A

That the impartial and universalistic concept of morality requires that those who can help, ought to, regardless of any casual relationship with poverty. This emphasises the idea that people in affluent countries and societies are morally obligated to help those who are in danger of losing their lives from poverty - related causes.

‘People in well - off countries ought to give all the money left over after paying for necessities to alleviate third world poverty - this is a moral duty and not an issue of charity.

28
Q

What is the Just War Tradition?

A

It is a set of guidelines for determining and judging whether and when a state may have recourse to war and how it may fight that war

29
Q

What are the three elements of the Just War Tradition?

A

(1) Jus ad Bellum - Justice of War

(2) Jus in Bello -
Justice in War

(3) Jus Post Bellum - Justice after War

30
Q

For Realists, why does the Just War Tradition impose unjustifiable limits?

A

Because necessity overrides ethics when it is a matter of state survival or when military forces are at risk

31
Q

Noting the Just War Tradition, what is the ultimate referent?

A

The ultimate referent is humanity and this is because rules about proportionality, non - combatant immunity, and discrimination, all refer to the rights of individuals to be exempt from harm

32
Q

What is the aim of the Just War Tradition?

A

It is concerned with applying moral limits to states’ recourse to war and to limiting harm that states can commit against other states, military forces and civilians

33
Q

When decides whether a decision is acceptable or unacceptable?

A

What is acceptable or unacceptable consists of rules about and for states, and the only acceptable justifications are the defence of individual state sovereignty and the defence of the principle of a society or state itself