Any good books on the concept of "just war" as seen by many cultures?

by tim_mcdaniel

There was a recent discussion, "Why does everyone murder Mongol envoys?", where /u/UpperLowerEastSide wrote, "one of the large drivers determining where the Mongols initially expanded was who angered them; this includes executing the envoys".

A much older discussion, "I've been reading some mongol letters to unconquered nations, what are other good exmaples of threatening/insulting historical correspondence?", was started by /u/questionsofscience quoting Guyuk Khan's response to a letter of Pope Innocent IV: "Chinggis Khan and the Great Khan Ögedey have both transmitted the order of the Eternal God that the all the world should be subordinated to the Mongols to be taken note of." [sic]

I dimly recall the ancient Roman Republic had a concept that their wars had to be justifiable -- though I would guess that often enough "I want glory and loot" prompted a pretext for "just". And Wikipedia on "Just War" mentions a discussion in the Mahabharata.

This question is not "example seeking", nefas under The Rules. But I can note these previous discussions with a few examples:

Are there differences between Roman just war theory and Medieval just war theory?
Are there pre-Modern examples of 'just war'?, but the only comment is from a mod, saying "While we normally wouldn't allow example seeking questions, I've gone ahead and approved this one since it's a question framed within the specific context of Just War theory."
Did the city-states of Greece, like Sparta or Athens, have a concept of "Just War," did they fight with certain rules?: /u/Iphikrates had a nice reply with "I would recommend reading the first book of Thucydides, which includes the (probably fictional but highly sophisticated) arguments raised by Spartans, their allies, and their enemies, for and against starting the Peloponnesian War. It will explain a lot about notions of what justified going to war, and what other considerations were involved (costs, risks, plausible outcomes)."
Was there religious wars in Europe pre-Abrahamic religion?: /u/MMBinNC covered briefly the Sacred Wars of the Greek Amphictyonic League.

(But lots of "0 comments" questions shown by a search for "just war".)

I'm asking about existing books (or articles or whatnot) on a more comprehensive level, of what "just war" meant in a number of cultures, maybe comparing and contrasting them. What did different cultures see as "just"? Was it merely a just cause, or did they consider just means, just ends, and other factors? Did they have suggestions of a just war, but then decide, nope, there's no justice in it at all? If their "just" war failed, did they reconsider? Did their concepts change?

I don't mean "just war" in the Christian context alone, or modern times. In fact, I can probably find a good number of sources on that if I looked, and I'm not interested in them at the moment.

Further, does anyone know anything about the historiography of just war -- have concepts or approached changed in interesting ways?

Hopefully someone else can say a bit more, as this topic is well outside my area of expertise. However, I can direct you to a few sources that (i) have a good scholarly reputation in philosophical treatments of just war theory and (ii) deal explicitly with historical theories of just war. I'll list them below, though unfortunately I mainly know them by reputation, and so won't be able to speak as in depth about them as I would like. Again, I hope someone more knowledgeable can chime in. Still, if you are interested in this sort of thing, these sources should be a good place to start reading up on it.

Rory Cox's "The Ethics of War up to Thomas Aquinas" is basically what it says on the tin: A nice overview of just war theory up to St. Thomas.

Pablo Kalmanovitz's "Early Modern Sources of the Regular War Tradition" nicely extends the discussion found in Cox to the Early Moderns.

Gregory Reichbach's, "The Historiography of Just War Theory" is another nice overview discussion that focuses (again, as it says on the tin) on the relevant historiography without sacrificing philosophical rigor.

Basically, reading these three sources (which are all papers, rather than full book-length treatments) will set you well on your way. If anything in particular catches your interest, the citations found in these works will serve as a pretty good jumping off point for further reading... another reason that these essays are so widely cited and frequently included on college syllabi. Happily enough, these three essays are all found in one single book: Oxford Handbook of Ethics of War edited by Seth Lazar and Helen Frowe.