Source: https://edulearn14.org/just-war-theory/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 23:55:26+00:00

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Within the Western moral, legal, and political arena, the connected questions of when war is appropriate and what means are acceptable in warfare has been the subject of a great deal of examination. The basic theory which has arisen within Western culture to evaluate the legitimacy of military action is called just war theory.(3) The just war theory has received widespread acceptance both within Western culture and in the international community as a means by which a war may be determined to be justified or not.(4) Just war theory, which has both religious and secular proponents, is perhaps the most universally recognised moral theory by which the use of force may be evaluated.
Just war theory as a method of evaluating military actions has been recognised historically by thinkers as varied as Cicero, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Grotius, and Daniel Webster. It is a theory which has been used by Christians and non-Christians alike to determine whether or not the decision to go to war and the means used to prosecute that war are just. It is crucial to keep this varied and complex pedigree of the just war tradition in mind when dealing with just war theory, otherwise it becomes possible to restrict the “breadth and diversity of the tradition,”(7) which could in turn lead to a serious misapplication of the theory in a particular circumstance.
Understanding, then, that the theory of just war is one in which many sources mingle over the course of centuries, it is helpful to make a brief overview of those sources before delving into the main task of explaining just war theory.
The first major Christian theologian to address himself to the task of determining the circumstances under which war is legitimate was St. Augustine of Hippo.(12) Augustine held that “the natural order, which is suited to the peace of moral things, requires that the authority and deliberation for undertaking war be under the control of a leader.”(13) For Augustine, war is a permissible part of the life of a nation, and the power of prosecuting a war was part of the natural powers of a monarch, ordained to uphold peace.(14) War, far from being something which Christians should shun, is part of the life of a nation, ordained by natural law, a law which according to the New Testament is ordained by God.
Besides right intention, St. Augustine also held that it was necessary for a war to be waged under lawful authority.(23) The purpose of the war-making powers of the state is to ensure peace, which in turn helps to foster the common-good of those in society.(24) Augustine recognised that it was necessary for the authority and decision to undertake war to be made by a recognised leader.(25) In addition, the soldiers who serve under the leader must serve the peace and common-good of society.(26) Warfare which is declared by unlawful authority therefore fails to meet this criteria, as does warfare which is not directed toward peace and the common good.
The second major Christian thinker to deal with the issue of war is St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274).(27) Aquinas based himself upon St. Augustine’s view of war, elaborating on the teachings of the bishop of Hippo.(28) In explicating his theory regarding the justness of a war, Aquinas focused on defining the right to make war and the importance of the intent which stands behind the decision to go to war.(29) In his attempt to formulate a simple rule which would give guidance on these issues, Aquinas argued that a war is justified when three basic, necessary conditions were met: 1. the war was prosecuted by a lawful authority with the power to wage war;(30) 2. The war was undertaken with just cause;(31) and 3. the war was undertaken with the right intention, that is, “to achieve some good or to avoid some evil.”(32) Together with St. Augustine, Aquinas’ views on the justification of war form the basic core of just war theory, and it is from their concepts that the theory of just war is adapted and expanded by later thinkers.
Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal and the United Nations Charter also act to flush out the modern conception of just war theory.
Cicero, the great Roman orator, jurist, and philosopher was one of the first to deal with the questions of justifiable war. Cicero held that the use of force was justifiable only when the war was declared by an appropriate governmental authority acting within specific limits.(33) For Cicero, the ability to wage war rested with the state, and the state alone, and could be lawfully waged only “after an official demand for satisfaction has been submitted or warning has been given and a formal declaration made.”(34) In addition, Cicero also proposed the existence of a universal norm for human behaviour which transcended the laws of individual nations and governed their relations with each other. (35) Cicero’s belief in this universal norm was grounded in his view that there was a humani generis societas, a “society of mankind sic rather than of states.”(36) This view of a universal standard of behaviour for nation-states which exists outside of promulgated law would have a profound impact on later just war theorists, particularly on Hugo Grotius.
The Caroline Incident occurred when the British attempted to prevent supplies from reaching Canadian rebels.(47) In their attempts to restrict the flow of material to the rebels, the British burned the U.S. ship Caroline and killed several U.S. citizens.(48) When the United States protested, the British government responded that its actions were justified as a matter of self-defence.(49) Webster responded by stating that the only way for the British claim to self-defence to stand was if it met the traditional elements of just self-defence.(50) Webster outlined those elements as consisting of necessity of self-defence, and the reasonable and not excessive use of force.(51) In essence, this definition of just self-defence mirrors that proposed by Grotius.
The United Nations Charter also has contributed to just war theory by recognising the inherent right of each sovereign nation to self-defence.(54) Article 51 of the U.N.
Just cause is classically understood to refer to self-defence.(67) The use of military force is justified when it is used to repel an unjust aggressor and to retake that which the unjust aggressor has taken.(68) It is generally acknowledged that a nation may use force to protect a neighbouring state from attack from an outside hostile power.(69) Thus, defence of self, or defence of another, are legitimate reasons for a nation-state to resort to military force.
The second element of jus ad bellum is that the war must be declared by competent authority.(70) As recognised by theorists like Cicero and Aquinas, for a war to be just, the decision to go to war must be lawfully made.(71) If an illegal or non-legal authority within an nation made the decision to go to war, such a decision would be unjust, for it would violate the basic principles of how a given society is governed.
Finally, the war must be fought with right intention, meaning that the motives for the war must not be to inflict undue suffering on the enemy state; the defending nation must use only that amount of force which is necessary for it to achieve its just cause. The motives of those engaged in making the decision to go to war must not be tinged with vengeance or a desire for retribution. Rather, the decision to go to war must be essentially protective; the goal of war is to obtain a just and durable peace. Such a peace is unlikely if the war is waged out of hateful or vengeful motives, with a desire not solely for self-protection but the total destruction of the enemy. If in it’s actions, the defending state’s use of force exceeds what is necessary for the success of its just cause, the defending state’s right intention is problematic. Seen this way, right intention serves to reinforce the requirement that the state which seeks to justly use force be acting in a truly defensive capacity, rather than engaging in military adventurism on the pretext of self-defence.
Just war theory is an attempt to think morally about war. The theorists who have recognised and shaped just war theory throughout Western civilisation have included both secular and religious writers, including some of the greatest names of Western philosophy and legal theory. Just war theory has been recognised and used widely in the 20th century in an attempt to limit the horrors of war, and has been incorporated into international law through the United Nations Charter, and the Nuremberg Charter. Generally construed, just war theory consists of two basic categories: jus ad bellum and jus in bello.
Low-Intensity Conflict, 147, 148 (Alberto R. Coll, et al.
weapons in conflicts between Christian nations.
Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials 648 (1992)..
L. Fortin and Douglas Kries, eds. 1994).
17. Id. at 220, 222.
war in his Summa Theologicae, Part II, II, Q. 40, Art. 1.
bases his arguments heavily on the writings of St.
29. Aquinas, Summa Theologicae, II, II, Q. 40, Art. 1.
Pacis, 10 Emory Int’l L. Rev. 1, 31-32 (1996).
Ch. 1 (1949) cited in Ziyad Motala and David T.
United Nations, and the Bosnian Conflict, 57 U. Pitt. L.
Rev. 1, 10 n.75 (1995).
Gardam at 403-11; Motala at 3.
54. U.N. Charter art. 51.
65. Aquinas, Summa Theologicae, II, II, Q. 40, Art. 1.
68. U.N. Charter art. 51.
mirrors the modern notion of sovereignty. Id.
II, II, Q. 40, Art.1..
71. Aquinas, Summa Theologicae, II, II, Q. 40, Art. 1.

References: Art. 1
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