Essay On Just War Theory

Just war theory, what is that?

In March 2003, the “coalition of the willing” , consisting of the United States of America, Great Britain and Australia, invaded Iraq, starting a war later referred to as the “Iraq war” . This war has raised eyebrows, not only questioning the intentions of the coalition, but criticizing the operation itself and the outcome as well. When thinking of the war, one could argue that it was necessary to protect the international community against the possible dangerous movements of the Iraq government under Sadam Hussein. However, after doing extensive research on the situation in Iraq before the invasion, the intentions of the coalition, and the outcome, one could question the necessity of the invasion and whether there was a

This will be done by focusing on the Just Cause and right authority principle of Jus ad bellum and by highlighting one of the criteria of jus in bello. First, the essay will argue that there was no just cause to start the war in Iraq and that the coalition did not have the right authority, thus explaining why the war was unjust. Afterwards, the focus will shift towards one the classic principles of jus in bello, the “Proportionality of means” , this aims to show that the war was not only unjust, but unjustly fought as well. First of all, a just cause is necessary if we want to speak of a just war. However, this was not the case with the Iraq war. According to Christian Enemark and Christopher Michaelsen, “The cause of a state seeking to wage war is just if it appeals to a moral principle higher than mere self-interest” . They name three “primary just causes”, which are “pre-emptive self-defence [sic], humanitarian intervention and enforcement of the collective will” . The main focus here will be on self-defense and humanitarian intervention. One could argue that the coalition acted out of self-defense by pointing out the concern it had with Iraq producing weapons of