In his investigation of such inquiries as the Sioux trials, Wirz trial, Leipzig trials, and the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials following World War II, Maguire agrees that war crimes proceedings on any scale warrant the term "political justice." His examples illustrate the gradations of political justice across three continents and a century of American involvement.

When does the waging of war become a criminal act? And who is in a position to judge? Ranging from the American Indian wars to the Civil War to World War I, and culminating with the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials following the Second World War, Peter Maguire provides much-needed historical perspective on the crucial and ever more urgent issues of war and justice. His examples illustrate the gradations of political justice and the perpetual redefinition of war crimes across three continents and more than a century of American foreign policy.