Michael Walzer to Speak on Terrorism and Just War

Leading Political Theorist Retires After Twenty-Seven Years at the Institute

Michael Walzer, UPS Foundation Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, will present the lecture "Terrorism and Just War" on Friday, May 4, at 6:00 p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall on the campus of the Institute. Professor Walzer will be retiring on July 1, 2007 after twenty-seven years at the Institute.

In his lecture, Professor Walzer will attempt to answer these questions: First, what is wrong with terrorism? The question may seem easy, but it is often answered badly. Second, how is terrorism chosen - picked out of all the possible political strategies? And third, how ought we to fight against terrorism? Or better, what are the moral limits that anti-terrorists ought to recognize?

One of America's foremost political thinkers, Professor Walzer addresses a wide variety of topics in political theory and moral philosophy in his writings, including political obligation, just and unjust war, nationalism and ethnicity, economic justice and the welfare state. He has played a critical role in the revival of a practical, issue-focused ethics and in the development of a pluralist approach to political and moral life.

On July 1, 2007, Dr. Walzer will become Professor Emeritus in the Institute's School of Social Science, after serving twenty-seven years on the Faculty. His books include Arguing About War (2004), On Toleration (1999), and Just and Unjust Wars (1977). Professor Walzer has served as co-editor of the political journal, Dissent, since 1975. Currently, he is working on the toleration and accommodation of "difference" in all its forms and also on a major collaborative project focused on the history of Jewish political thought.

Professor Walzer received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1961. He joined the faculty of Princeton University in 1962 and served as Assistant Professor of Politics until 1966, when he was named Professor of Government at Harvard University. He left Harvard to join the Faculty at the Institute for Advanced Study in 1980 and was named the UPS Foundation Professor in 1986. He has been a member of the Board of Governors of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem since 1974 and a Contributing Editor of The New Republic since1977. Walzer also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Brandeis University from 1983-88.

For further information about this event, which is free and open to the public, please call (609) 734-8175.