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Just War Theory And Utilitarianism

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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

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