Professor Esther D. Reed

Esther D. Reed is now Professor Emeritus.

Her research remains broadly in theological ethics and moral philosophy, with particular focus on (un)just war reasoning and weapons control, prospects for jus in silico, and the future of military ethics.  

Her current project in development is An Ethic for Future Security Environment(s): (Un)Just War Reasoning Renewal. Classic (un)just war reasoning has failed for many and complex reasons. Yet more terrifying than a tradition whose failures we know, however, is the absence of an ethic other than competitive advantage to assist those in government and with military responsibility for peace and stability. Hence this attempt to rethink, repurpose, chasten and re-resource.

Recent publications include:

• co-editorship of a Special Section "Force-Short-Of-War (Jus Ad Vim): Towards Ethical Regulation", International Affairs, Volume 102, Issue 5, September 2026, Pages v–x, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiag143
• "Vulnerability Theory and Resilience-Oriented Realism: Just War Reasoning in a Nuclear Age" Studies in Christian Ethics (forthcoming)
• The Limit of Responsibility: Engaging Dietrich Bonhoeffer in a Globalizing Era (T & T Clark, August Bloomsbury 2018).