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January 6, 2005
Just War Theory - Introduction
Over the next few weeks I am going to intersperse normal posts with a series on Just War Theory.
Just War Theory is the idea that war can be justifiable as long as certain conditions are met. The theory covers both the decision to go to war, and conduct in war. Catholic theologians and philosophers develped it over the ages.
As a guide I will be using A Fighting Chance: The Moral Use of Nuclear Weapons, by Joseph Martino, published in 1988. The book is, sadly, out of print, although Amazon has a few copies left which can be had for a pittance.
The book is one of those books one happens across at the bookstore, or sees advertised by your book club, and is purchased on a whim. Most of us have one or two of these gems in our library, a book that you consider exceptionally well written, but that for some reason or other didn't do so well in sales. This book is one of them. I consider it so well reasoned that I've read it several times.
Years ago I had a brief email correspondence with the author. I happened upon an interview with him somewhere on the Internet, and his email address was listed at the bottom of the piece. Unfortunately the emails are long since lost, the victims of numerous changes of computer platforms.
Just War theory is divided into two parts; jus ad bellum, which concerns the decision to go to war, and jus ad bello, which concerns conduct in war.
For jus ad bellum, the conditions that must be met in order for the war to be just are:
- Just Cause - The side going to war must have sufficiently strong reason for doing so.
- Competent Authority - War can only be declared by those with the legal authority to do so.
- Comparative Justice - The war may be justified if the party initiating it is more in the right than the other party. Note that absolute perfection is not required.
- Right Intention - "The intention of those attempting to wage war justly must be to achieve only their legitimate objectives, not to go beyond them even in victory.
- Last Resort - All reasonable alternatives must have been exhausted.
- Probability of Success - This does not mean that victory must be certain, rather that there is a reasonable probability of success.
- Proportionality - "The damage to be inflicted on the enemy must not be out of proportion to the good expected in taking up arms"
For jus ad bello, the criteria are
- Discrimination - Reasonable care must be taken to protect the lives of the innocent. Strikes must be made only against legitimate military targets.
- Proportionality - "In each individual military action, the damage to be done and the costs to be incurred must be justified by the military gain expected from the action."
Posted by Tom at January 6, 2005 11:50 PM
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