academy for social change presents just war theory imagine that your sibling steals your sweatshirt it was wrong of them to take and the only way to write that wrong is to take it back so you sneak into their room and grab your hoodie while you're looking for it you uncover their candy stash you decide to pocket a piece of candy in retaliation now you've got your hoodie back and a sweet treat and your sibling will hopefully learn not to steal your stuff was this a fair way to end the conflict just war theory is a fancy way to ask questions about how and why people fight wars throughout history people have competed for resources principles of honor and warfare were present in ancient egyptian and greek civilizations catholic theologians in the middle ages like saint augustine and saint thomas aquinas developed the modern written theory of just war these philosophers wanted to reconcile the belief that taking a life was wrong with the state's duty to defend its people the necessity of violence in some circumstances just war theory provides a framework for states in conflict it stresses that every effort to prevent wars must be made according to just war theory violence is only permissible when it is a lesser evil than the alternatives for a battle to be considered morally permissible it must be ethical before during and after the conflict respectively the latin juice adbellum juice and vellum and juice postpelum describes these products juice ad bellum describes the justice before a war to enter war states must have a reasonable chance of success attempt all other options of negotiation and have the intention to right or wrong not gain materials war should be proportional to its harms if nationwide invades and acquires land from nation x nation x has a just cost to take the area back however nation x should only aim to restore its lost property not take additional land from nationwide nor punish them further with trade embargoes or nuclear warfare war must also be declared by the right authority the political power of a sovereign state rather than just any individual or group is the only proper priority that can make that decision according to just war theory the reason for war should be to protect innocent life from danger for example if genocide is occurring in a country war is justified as it aids the victims in essence the cause of war must be in self-defense or the defense of others juice in bellum or justice during war describes the actions a country can fairly take in battle for example civilians injured soldiers captives or people who surrendered should not be attacked harming the civilian population such as through the destruction of land or natural resources common in combat should attempt to be moderate and only for military necessity weapons and other methods of warfare that cause mass destruction are prohibited nations must treat war prisoners fairly and abstain from torture jews post bellum or justice after a conflict is vital for proper restorations similar to starting the war with just cause there must be an ethical reason for ending the war did the countries affected apologize surrender negotiate terms and promise not to seek revenge in essence the terms of surrender should be proportional to the wrongs done the declaration of peace should be made and accepted by proper authorities often war has tore nations apart and repairs need to be made peace treaties environmental remediations war crime trials or reparations may be necessary for justice military and political leaders bear a great burden of repairing damage than the combatants and civilians there is the question of whether morality has a place in such an immoral act as war pacifists believe that all war is immoral and should not occur under any circumstances other schools of thought have influenced the discussion of moralities placed in war include consequentialism which is concerned only with the outcomes of actions and intrinsicism which considers acts as inherently good or bad regardless of the outcome for example an ethical war for consequentialists uses the minimum amount of time and money to encourage a clean fight with no need for revenge intrinsicalists consider actions themselves in war to be good or evil such as protection for doctors or abandon nuclear weapons ethics can become challenging to discern such as when military targets hide in civilian centers while the intention may be to only kill the military leader the foreseeable result of innocent lives lost is not accidental within just war theory there are influences of both models because there is no strict ethical framework the theory itself is applied broadly moral situations are not black and white with such broad rules for justification war can both fit the criteria and violate it based on individual interpretations just war theory reminds us of our humanness in war enemies of different religions races or languages tend to dehumanize one another when they are all seen as people all sharing a moral code wars may generate less harm no government can send people to die without reason and just war theory examines if there are any good reasons for war just war theory points to fighting as something we can only be motivated to do to protect each other not for resources the ruling government or power now it's your time to think further think about a past war or conflict and apply just war theory was the war just what before during or after the conflict would have made it more so