ipl-logo

Just War Theory And Utilitarianism

1763 Words8 Pages

The Gulf Wars, Just War Theory and Utilitarianism

The use of military force against another country has divided contemporary international law. Since international law is state-focused, only self-defense can justify the use of military force by one country against another. However, humanitarian crises and the lack of a military counterweight to the power of the United States has placed pressure on the international legal regime to determine when the use of force is legitimate. Just war theory offers an approach to resolving this dilemma (Mednicoff, 2006). Just war theory is traced back to St Augustine when he struggled with the question whether Christians could engage in war without sin. He drew on Christian teachings, Roman law and the …show more content…

There are three facets to it, Jus ad Bellum, which outlines the measures necessary for war to be undertaken; Jus in Bello, which governs how war is supposed to be conducted and Jus post-Bellum, which deals with the responsibility and accountability of warring parties after the war. The principles of Jus ad Bellum are having just cause, being a last resort, being declared by a proper authority, possessing right intention, having a reasonable chance of success, and the end being proportional to the means used. According to Moseley (N.D.), possessing just cause is the first and arguably the most important condition of jus ad bellum. Subsequently, war should be a last resort and all solutions must be exhausted prior to the declaration of war. Additionally, possessing right intention is important, as a nation, waging war should be doing so only for the cause of justice and not for reasons of self-interest. Likewise, the nation initiating the war for a just cause must have a reasonable probability of success. Finally, the goal of the war must be proportional to the other principles of just cause (Moseley N.D.). Moreover, Jus in Bello has two main principles: discrimination, which concerns itself with who are legitimate targets in war and proportionality: which concerns itself with how much force is morally appropriate. Finally, Jus post-Bellum concerns itself with the reconstruction of the …show more content…

Was Iraq an unjust war? A debate on the Iraq war and reflections on Libya. International Affairs.
History.com Staff. (2009). Persian Gulf War. History.com. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/persian-gulf-war
History.com Staff. (2009). War in Iraq Begins. History.com. retrieved from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/war-in-iraq-begins
Mastin, Luke. (2008). Utilitarianism. Retrieved from http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_utilitarianism.html
Moseley, Alexander., (N.D.). Just War Theory. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed 20 October, 2017, http://www.iep.utm.edu/justwar/#H2
Mosser, K., (2014). Understanding philosophy. Sudbury, MA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/
O’Brien, William. (2012). Desert Storm: A Just War Analysis. St. John's Law Review. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1794&context=lawreview
Record, Jeffrey. (2003). The Bush Doctrine and the War with Iraq. Retrieved from

Show More
Related
484 Words | 2 Pages

But is it enough? I also appreciate that through the years the just war theory has been expanded to include new parameters for methods and reasoning among other points (p. 143-4). But is it enough? 2) A major dilemma in war is the

Read More
4783 Words | 20 Pages

Operation Rolling Thunder was a widely criticized air campaign designed to deter the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) from supporting the National Liberation Front, in South Vietnam. In contrast, Operation Instant Thunder, named to distinguish itself from the former, was an incredibly effective air campaign that successfully destroyed Iraq’s war making capability. While the Jus En Bello of each campaign can be analyzed independently, they cannot fairly be evaluated without further inspection of the Jus Ad Bellum. The aim of such analysis is not solely for a determination of the ethics of each conflict, but also to examine how and if the morality of the Jus En Bello is influenced by the Jus Ad Bellum. After examining the ethics of the decision

Read More
727 Words | 3 Pages

War is a conflict that has been seen by every human civilization to some extent, and is sure to be seen by those in the future. These hostile situations can be caused by a variety of situations, including land, resources, philosophy, and religion. Though the exact cause and result of each war is different, there are ways to gauge the effectiveness and permissibility of the actions of governments and armed forces during war. This is the premise of Just War Theory. Just War is philosophy of rating a war as ethically just or not, which has three basic requirements along with a scale for comparison.

Read More
446 Words | 2 Pages

Just war also frames war in the wrong way and It focuses on a limited conflict. There are long term conflicts to think about before rallying up and setting for battle. “The use of military force to stop the killing in Rwanda would have been, in my view, a just war” (Walzer, Pg. xi). Walzer describes the use of military forces being avoided if possible, but used if necessary.

Read More
1410 Words | 6 Pages

These principles attempt to understand and perhaps explain the rationale behind why war is

Read More
1124 Words | 5 Pages

Bertrand Russell, a British author, mathematician, and philosopher said this quote. This quote is saying war doesn’t solve anything except for proving who can survive. “War does not determine who is right - only who is

Read More
588 Words | 3 Pages

The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on stated Ulysses s grant during the civil war. It was Brother agains brother in the battle of gettysburg both armies facing major casualties which army could pull through to get the win whoever one this battle may be the winner of the cival war.

Read More
1441 Words | 6 Pages

According to Clausewitz, military commanders must first be aware of the three most important strategic objectives of war: (1) to conquer and destroy the armed power of the enemy; (2) to take possession of his material and other sources of strength, and (3) to gain public opinion.1 To attain the strategic objectives, Clausewitz requires the application of three decisive military principles: military commanders must apply unrelenting pressure and energy to defeat the enemy; military commanders must mass combat power against the enemy’s vulnerability, creating or revealing additional weaknesses that the attacking force can exploit; and commanders must capitalize on speed, surprise, and shock to destroy the enemy. Clausewitz insists that

Read More
1305 Words | 6 Pages

What is the criteria for a Just War? The definition of Just War according to Dictionary.com would be, “A military action that is justified as being permissible for legal or moral reasons.” What justifies war permissible would be next thing to look at. Before going

Read More
1446 Words | 6 Pages

The invasion of Iraq echoes the ideological view of Woodrow Wilson, immediately following World War I. In Wilson’s opinion, his Liberal Internationalism was a cure-all end-all to conflicts between nations. His matrix of diagnoses and prescriptions

Read More
966 Words | 4 Pages

The idea of loss can scare most people. Whether we lose our phones, our minds, or loved ones, we can all relate to a certain idea of loss that can appear frightening for most. When loss becomes something almost normal for the world, most people find something to hold onto for those last few moments before it finally disappears. For author Alexandra Kleeman, even though her character becomes accustomed to the Earth disappearing around her, she still chooses to hold onto the idea of her lover for as long as she can before they both vanish with the rest of the world. In the short story, “You.

Read More
1716 Words | 7 Pages

Describe the Just War Tradition (JWT) and explain the purpose for it. Why should US Army officers study and understand JWT? Explain. a) Description and Purpose of JWT The word "war" has a clearly association with horror, devastation and injustice. It is hardly to find greater antonyms than "war" and "justice".

Read More
1312 Words | 6 Pages

The United States, Europe and Japan saw such a potential monopoly as a danger. This war is important because it puts forward a perfect example of Realism being practiced in real life. The war shows us the need of an International Peacekeeping Organization but also warns us that they might not always be useful and this is when the use of ‘Power’ comes in which is the essence of Realism. In this case the ‘Power’ we are referring to is the United States which intervened in this war to help Kuwait defeat Iraq.

Read More
1469 Words | 6 Pages

And although there may be times where the costs of war outweigh the benefits, If that was an act of self-defense, it can be justified. However in most cases, many of these points for war cannot be verified on the spot, together with untold reasons of those wars, end up causing wars that would not have occurred if not for certain misunderstandings. However, there are many real threats that have been and will need to be eliminated regardless of the lives sacrificed. Therefore, I think that war is justifiable with these three requirements, it should be brought forth because of a just cause, done for the greater good, and furthermore when it is an act of

Read More
979 Words | 4 Pages

Preventive and preemptive war in Utopia, Book II. When we saw the title of the chapter for the first time, we thought that it would deal with how Utopians prevent war, but what More is trying to say goes far away from this. In fact, the chapter is a detailed exposition of casus belli, military strategies and techniques. The meaning of Utopia is connected to America’s discovery, the world that serves as the location of fictional presentations of political ideas. At the same time, “this production means for the author to express genuine and real political views about his own circumstances” (pp. 57, The Ethics of Foreign Policy).

Read More

More about Just War Theory And Utilitarianism

Related Topics

Open Document