In the wake of political evil on a large scale, what does justice consist of? Daniel Philpott takes up this question in Just and Unjust Peace. While scholars have written about many aspects of dealing with past injustice, no general ethic has emerged. Philpott seeks to provide a holistic model that delivers concrete ethical guidelines for societies striving to build peace.

Turns to religious traditions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam in particular - to find the tools of peacebuilding.

The value of Philpott's detailed mapping of concepts of reconciliation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam is not merely to expand the applicability of his ethic but also to add important layers of complexity to his account ... the power of Just and Unjust Peace is to illustrate that in the aftermath of large-scale political violence, "not entirely fair" may be the best that we can doand it is much preferable to all other alternatives.