CV
Seth Lazar, Research Fellow
School of Philosophy, Australian National University
Areas of Specialisation
Political Philosophy, Moral Philosophy.
Areas of Competence
History of Political Thought.
Employment & Fellowships
2013 Discovery Early Career Research Award. School of Philosophy, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra
2011 Continuing Research Fellow. School of Philosophy, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra
2011 Visiting fellow at programme on Sovereignty, Global Justice, & the Ethics of War, Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
09-11 Research Associate, Institute for Ethics, Law, & Armed Conflict (ELAC), Oxford & Non-Stipendiary Research Fellow, Nuffield College, Oxford.
07-09 Retained Lecturer in Political Theory, Pembroke College, Oxford
02-03 Frank Knox Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Education
06-09 D.Phil. Politics (Political Theory), Department of Politics, Oxford.
Thesis titled ‘War & Associative Duties’. Supervised by Henry Shue, examined by Jeff McMahan & David Rodin.
04-06 M.Phil. Politics (Political Theory), Department of Politics, Oxford
Distinction—highest mark in Politics department. Thesis ‘A Critical Analysis of Corrective Justice’, supervised by David Miller.
99-02 BA (Hons) English Language & Literature, Wadham College, Oxford
First class honours. Fourth out of 263 candidates.
Publications
2013 ‘Necessity and Noncombatant Immunity’, Review of International Studies, forthcoming.
2013 ‘Just War Theory’, Oxford Companion to Comparative Politics, Joel Krieger (ed.), Oxford University Press
2013 ‘War’, International Encyclopaedia of Ethics, Hugh Lafollette (ed.), Wiley-Blackwell
2012 ‘Necessity in Self-Defence and War’, Philosophy & Public Affairs, 40/1, 3-44.
2012 ‘Scepticism about Jus Post Bellum‘, Morality, Jus Post Bellum, and International Law” Larry May and Andrew Forcehimes (eds.), Cambridge University Press
2012 ‘The Morality and Law of War’, Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Law, Andrei Marmor (ed.), Routledge.
2011 ‘Introduction’, Ethics, 122:1, 8-9.
2011 ‘War: Essays in Political Philosophy’, Mind, 120:479, 895-901
2010 ‘A Liberal Defence of (Some) Duties to Compatriots’, J. of Applied Phil., 27:3, 246-57
2010 ‘The Responsibility Dilemma for Killing in War‘, Philosophy & Public Affairs, 38:2, 180-213
2009 ‘Responsibility, Risk, & Killing in Self-Defense’, Ethics, 119:4, 699-728
2009 ‘Do Associative Duties Really Not Matter?’, Journal of Political Philosophy, 17:1, 90-101
2009 ‘The Nature & Disvalue of Injury’, Res Publica, 15:3, 289-304
2008 ‘Corrective Justice & the Possibility of Rectification’, Ethical Theory & Moral Practice, 11:4, 355–68
Books Under Contract
The Oxford Handbook of the Ethics of War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, expected 2015. (Co-Editor, with Helen Frowe).
Justifying War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, expected 2015.
The Morality of Defensive War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, expected 2014. (Co-Editor, with Cécile Fabre).
Other Work in Progress
2012 Book Manuscript: Distinction: The Protection of Noncombatants in War
2012 ‘War’s Endings and the Structure of Just War Theory’
2012 ‘Risking Killing, Risky Killing, and the Protection of Noncombatants in War’
2012 ‘Protecting Noncombatants in War: The Role of Eliminative and Opportunistic Agency’
2012 ‘Necessity and Noncombatant Immunity’
2011 ‘National Defence, Self-Defence, and the Problem of Political Aggression’
2011 ‘Associative Duties and the Ethics of Killing in War’
Other Outputs
2012 ‘Seth Lazar on Self-Defense in War’ Public Ethics Radio, Christian Barry (ed.), Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
Prizes and Honours
2012 Carnegie Ethics Council Global Ethics Fellowship.
Non-stipendiary, non-residential three year fellowship in global ethics.
2011 Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Alberta
Declined in order to take up position at ANU.
2011 American Philosophical Association Frank Chapman Sharp memorial prize for the best unpublished monograph on the philosophy of war & peace
Biennial prize ($1500) awarded for monograph derived from unpublished chapters of thesis.
2009 Res Publica Postgraduate Essay Prize for 2008
Prize (£100) awarded for my paper ‘The Nature & Disvalue of Injury’.
2008 Society for Applied Philosophy Annual Conference Postgraduate Essay Prize
Prize (fees & expenses) awarded for paper ‘Risk & Responsibility’, judged best postgraduate essay.
2007 Social Science Division Teaching Excellence Award (Category A)
£1500 award funded by Higher Education Funding Council for England, for outstanding teaching. Only 5 awards in the department of politics, only one to graduate student.
02-03 Harvard University, Frank Knox Fellowship
Scholarship totalling approx. $50,000 for year of study at Harvard.
00-02 Wadham College, Schools Prize & Junior Scholarship
Prize for Wadham’s highest ever mark in English final essay (84%). Scholarship for 1st in prelims.
Conferences Convened
2011 ‘War & Global Justice’, IAS, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Deploying insights developed by political theorists working on global justice to problems in just war theory. Participants: Michael Walzer, Anna Stilz, Miriam Ronzoni, Laura Valentini, Helen Frowe, Massimo Renzo, Yitzhak Benbaji.
2010 ‘Why We Fight: The Purposes of Military Force in the Twenty-First Century’, second meeting of the ELAC Workshop, Oxford
Participants: myself, Chris Kutz, Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen, Patrick Emerton, Jeff McMahan, Gerhard Øverland, Cécile Fabre & Yitzhak Benbaji. Respondents: postgraduates & Cheyney Ryan, Nancy Sherman, Victor Tadros, Laura Valentini & James Pattison.
2010 ‘Eliminative & Manipulative Agency in the Ethics of Self-Defence’, ELAC, Oxford
Participants: myself, Victor Tadros, Helen Frowe, & Gerald Lang. Respondents: postgraduate students & David Rodin & Jon Quong.
2009 ‘Killing in War workshop’, first meeting of the ELAC Workshop, Oxford
Focus on McMahan’s 2009 book. Participants: McMahan, David Rodin, John Gardner, Yitzhak Benbaji, Cheyney Ryan, Larry May, Tony Coady, Cécile Fabre, Henry Shue. Proceedings under review at Ethics. So far two acceptances, two conditional acceptances.
Invited Presentations
2013 Moral Philosophy Seminar, University of Oxford.
Title: TBC.
2013 Philosophy Department Seminar, University of Stirling.
Title: TBC.
2013 CELPA Seminar, University of Warwick.
Title: TBC.
2013 Philosophy Department Seminar, University of Auckland.
Title: TBC.
2013 Philosophy Department Seminar, Victoria University, Wellington.
Title: TBC.
2013 Philosophy Department Seminar, University of Otago, Dunedin.
Title: TBC.
2013 Philosophy Department Seminar, University of Christchurch.
Title: TBC.
2013 Philosophy Department Seminar, University of Adelaide.
Title: TBC.
2013 Political Theory Seminar, Stanford Philosophy Department
Title: ‘Vulnerability and Defencelessness in War’.
2013 USC Philosophy Department
Title: ‘Risking Killing, Risky Killing, and the Principle of Distinction’.
2013 Ethics and War Conference, UCSD Philosophy Department
Title: ‘War’s Endings and the Structure of Just War Theory’.
2013 UCB Political Science Department
Title: ‘Legitimate Authority in the Morality of War’.
2013 Moral Philosophy Workshop, Yale Philosophy Department
Title: ‘Vulnerability and Defencelessness in War’.
2013 Philosophy Colloquium, Rutgers Philosophy Department
Title: ‘Risking Killing, Risky Killing, and the Principle of Distinction’.
2013 Self-defence workshop, Centre for Human Values, Princeton.
Title: ‘The Threat Condition in Justified Self-Defence’.
2013 Weekly Seminar, Leeds Philosophy Department
Title: ‘Risking Killing, Risky Killing, and the Principle of Distinction’.
2013 Political Theory Seminar, LSE.
Title: ‘Legitimate Authority in the Morality of War’.
2013 Philosophy Research Seminar, Essex.
Title: ‘Vulnerability and Defencelessness in War’.
2013 Political Theory Seminar, Cambridge.
Title: ‘Legitimate Authority in the Morality of War’.
2012 PhilSoc, School of Philosophy ANU
Title: ‘Risky Killing’.
2011 Thursday Philosophy Seminar, School of Philosophy ANU
Title: ‘Necessity in Self-Defence and War’.
2011 Moral, Social and Political Theory Workshop, ANU
Title: ‘Necessity and Noncombatant Immunity’.
2011 ‘Ethics and Law in War’, third annual meeting of the ELAC workshop, Oxford
Title: ‘The Morality and Law of War’.
2011 Program on Sovereignty, Global Justice and the Ethics of War, IAS, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Respondent to Michael Walzer’s paper on ‘What’s Just War Theory About?’.
2011 Seminar Series, ELAC, Oxford
Title: ‘The Morality and Law of War’.
2011 International Intelligence Ethics Association, Oxford Intelligence Group Meeting, Nuffield College Oxford.
Respondent to Tony Coady (Melbourne) on ‘Intelligent Ethics and the Ethics of Intelligence’.
2011 Criminalisation Conference, University of Warwick.
Respondent to Tony Coady (Melbourne) on ‘Terrorism and Law’.
2011 Colloquia at Dartmouth College, University of Melbourne, Washington University St Louis, University of Chicago, University of Toronto, and Stanford University
Title: ‘Associative Duties and the Ethics of Killing in War’.
2010 Nuffield Political Theory Workshop, Nuffield College, Oxford
Title: ‘Associative Duties and the Ethics of Killing in War’.
2010 ‘Why We Fight: The Purposes of Military Force’, second annual meeting of the ELAC workshop, Oxford
Title: ‘On the Moral Importance of Winning’. Respondent: Guy Sela.
2010 Centre for Applied Philosophy & Public Ethics Seminar, Australia National University
Title: ‘On the Moral Importance of Winning’.
2010 Workshop on Ethics, Jus Post Bellum, & International Law, CAPPE, ANU
Title: ‘Endings & Aftermath in the Ethics of War’.
2010 Social & Political Theory Workshop, RSSS, Australia National University
Title: ‘Necessity, Vulnerability, & Noncombatant Immunity’.
2010 ‘Asymmetric Wars, International Relations, & Just War Theory’, Belgrade U., Serbia
Title: ‘Noncombatant Immunity & Asymmetric Warfare’.
2010 Workshop on ‘Eliminative & Manipulative Agency in the Ethics of Self-Defence’, ELAC, University of Oxford.
Title: ‘Scepticism about the Eliminative/ Manipulative Agency Distinction’. Respondent: Jo Firth.
2010 Centre for Ethics, Law & Public Affairs Seminar Series, University of Warwick
Title: ‘Scepticism about the Eliminative/ Manipulative Agency Distinction’.
2010 Seminar Series, ELAC, Oxford
Title: ‘Associative Duties & the Ethics of War’.
2009 Proportionality & Noncombatant Immunity, ELAC, Oxford
Roundtable discussion with Jeff McMahan & Helen Frowe.
2008 Oxford & Princeton Global Norms/Global Justice Research Collaboration, Oxford
Title: ‘Responsibility & Killing in War’.
2008 Future of Humanity Advanced Research Series, James Martin 21st Century School, Oxford
Title: ‘War & Associative Duties’.
2008 Nuffield Political Theory Workshop, Nuffield College, Oxford
Title: ‘On The Justification of Associative Duties’.
2007 Political Theory Colloquium, School for Politics & International Relations, Keele U.
Title: ‘The Right to Kill? A Critique of Jeff McMahan’s Theory of Liability to Defensive Killing’.
Other Conference Presentations
2008 American Philosophical Association Eastern Division, Philadelphia
Title: ‘Self-Defence & Risk: A Reply to McMahan’. Respondent: Rahul Kumar.
2008 ‘The Basis & Value of Equality’, Workshops in Political Theory, Manchester Met. U.
Title: ‘On the Clash Between Loyalty and Equality’.
2008 Society for Applied Philosophy Conference, University of Manchester
Title: ‘Risk & Responsibility: A Critique of Jeff McMahan’s Theory of Liability to Defensive Killing’. Respondent: Jeff McMahan. Awarded prize for best postgraduate essay.
2008 ‘Global Justice’, Assn of Legal & Social Philosophy Annual Meeting, U. of Nottingham
Title: ‘The Right to Kill? A Critique of Jeff McMahan’s Theory of Just Killing in War’.
2007 Harvard Graduate Conference in Political Theory, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Title: ‘A Liberal Defence of Duties to Compatriots’.
2007 ‘Beyond the Nation’, School of Politics, Int’l Studies & Philosophy, Queen’s U., Belfast
Title: ‘Duties to Compatriots & Scheffler’s Distributive Objection’.
2007 ‘Global Social Justice in Theory & Practice’, Global Studies Association, U. of Birmingham
Title: ‘On the Voluntarist Objection to Duties to Compatriots’.
2007 ‘Terrorism, Globalisation & Democracy’, IPSA Political Philosophy Meeting, London
Title: ‘Nationalism, Terrorism, & Supreme Emergency’.
2007 ‘Aliens & Nations’, Assn of Legal & Social Philosophy Annual Meeting, Keele University
Title: ‘Special Relationships, Particular Duties, & the Distributive Objection’.
Research & Conference Funding
2012 RSSS Conference Travel Award ($2500)
2012 CASS Pilot Hub Award ($5,000)
2010 John Fell OUP Research Fund Award, Department of Politics, Society for Applied Philosophy, Mind Association Major Conference Grant, Nuffield College Politics Group (£8,000)
2008 American Philosophical Association Graduate Travel Award ($300)
2008 British International Studies Association Founders’ Fund Award (£400)
2008 Oxford University Vice-Chancellors’ Fund Award (£1,650)
07-08 Department of Politics, Cyril Foster, Winchester & Norman Chester Funds (£950)
07-08 St Peter’s College, Tutor for Graduates Fund (£700)
2007 St Peter’s College, Cairncross Academic Award (£400)
05-08 Arts & Humanities Research Council, Doctoral Fellowship (c. £60,000)
04-06 St Peter’s College & Department of Politics, Graduate Studentship (c. £20,000)
Teaching
11-12 PhD Supervision, School of Philosophy, ANU.
Panel chair for one PhD candidate, on panel for five others.
11-12 MA Supervision in applied ethics, School of Philosophy, ANU.
Supervised 1 CAPPE student working on the ethics of covert investigation.
10-11 M.Phil. supervision, Department of Politics & International Relations, Oxford.
Supervised M.Phil. thesis on jus post bellum.
07-09 Pembroke College, Oxford
Designed syllabus & taught tutorials (1:1 or 1:2), for courses on Kant’s Ethics, War & Global Justice, Marx & Marxism, & Final Honour Schools (FHS) Theory of Politics & Ethics. Also taught revision seminars (larger classes).
06-09 Regent’s Park, St. Hugh’s, St. Peter’s, St. Hilda’s, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford
Designed syllabus & taught tutorials for War & Global Justice, FHS Theory of Politics, Ethics.
06-09 Oxford Overseas Study Course, Taylor University Programme, Oxford
Designed & taught Ethics, Marx, Bioethics, War/Global Justice courses to visiting US students.
98-99 Falcon College, Esigodini, Zimbabwe.
Taught English literature, English language, History, & French. Coached rugby & cricket teams.
Professional Activities
2010 Contributed to Advisory Consultation, US Army Professional Military Ethics code
Majors Bob Underwood & Chris Case (West Point) were writing a new code of ethics for the US Army. I contributed to a seminar on their white paper.
2010 Oxford University Press, Oxford Bibliographies Online
Contributed ‘War’ Entry to online bibliography
08- Editorial board: Journal of Political Philosophy
Referee: Ethics, Law and Philosophy, Social Theory and Practice, British Journal of Political Science, Political Studies, International Theory, Journal of Moral Philosophy, Philosophy and Psychology, Philosophical Studies, Review of International Studies, Politics, Philosophy and Economics, Journal of Applied Philosophy, Res Publica
Refereeing & commentary, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Chicago University Press
Journal referee. Referee for new book proposals. Reader for McMahan’s Killing in War manuscript.
Photography, Travel, Languages
06- Professional Photography
Published & prize-winning photos. See www.sethlazar.com & www.oxford-panoramas.co.uk.
94- Travel
Among other trips, crossed Africa overland by public transport, Morocco to South Africa, visiting a town beginning with every letter of the alphabet, in order. See www.alphabettravel.com.
Languages
French: fluent speaking/writing; Russian, Spanish: recoverable speaking; Hindi: basic speaking.
Referees
Professor Henry Shue, Senior Research Fellow Emeritus (active), Merton College, Oxford.
Professor Jeff McMahan, Philosophy Department, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey
Professor David Miller, Professor of Political Theory, Nuffield College, Oxford
Dr. David Rodin, Co-Director, Institute for Ethics, Law & Armed Conflict, Oxford
For teaching reference: Professor Stephen Whitefield, Pembroke College, Oxford