The Sword and the Cross: Reflections on Command and Conscience

This book studies the relationships that exist between politics and conscience. Its intention is to point out that moral convictions conceived and implemented without political wisdom can be bankrupt, and that geopolitical strategy formulated and effected without ethical character can be disastrous. Toner contends that politics and ethics are different sides of the same coin. Therefore "commanders" (that is, leaders in politics, in diplomacy, and in the military) must develop both strategic sense and ethical intuition. A study of the relationship between the sacred and the profane, this book promotes an understanding of the ways in which power and purpose can--and must-- be complementary.

JAMES H. TONER is Associate Professor of Political Science at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, where he teaches international politics and political philosophy.