Category: Just War Theory

The discussion of the ethics of war goes back to the Greeks and Romans, although neither civilisation behaved particularly well in war. In the Christian tradition war ethics were developed by St Augustine, and later by St Thomas Aquinas and others. Hugo Grotius (1583-1645), a Dutch philosopher and author of De Jure Belli Ac Pacis…

The ethics and legitimacy of humanitarian intervention is often questioned, with a nation’s real intentions often being unknown, and this has led to beliefs that it may be used as a façade to disguise neocolonialism occurring. The idea of humanitarian intervention was publicised and reworked by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty under…

Imagine you are a Syrian refugee, going from camp to camp with little to no hope of finding a better life. Having fled your home with the fears of being killed, tortured, or kidnapped. You are forced to leave your home for staying would be worse than leaving. Sadly, this is the reality for over…

Yemen is facing with problems they have been struggling to resolve for a long period. Their incapability to fix these obstacles is putting them at risk with even greater ones. Due to the years of conflict, they have dealt with they are on the brink of a catastrophe. Yemen is one of the world’s poorest…

According to the US Department of Defence, “irregular warfare (IW) is defined as a violent struggle among state and non- state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations” (“Irregular Warfare” 5). Irregular warfare is waged by irregular fighters such as terrorists or guerrillas and what constitutes irregular warfare is determined by the tactics…

How important is a nation’s national security? What would happen if one of their critical infrastructures failed? These are some of the topics that are discussed by nations around the globe. The one thing both of the above-mentioned examples have in common is more than likely they have some sort of computer working on them,…

From Cicero’s early ideas to Saint Augustine’s substantial contributions, the just war theory has been used as a means to morally justify the choice to go to war and maintain that the war is fought justly. Although the idea and ‘rules’ of just war have evolved over time, the idea of just war has become…

“Feminism is the belief that women are of equal social and human value with men, and that the differences between men and women, whether biologically based or culturally derived, do not and should not constitute grounds for discrimination against women” (Reardon 1985, 20). This definition best summarizes the core concept of feminism. From this simple…

Just War Theory Jus in Bello The Jus in Bello aspect of the Just War Theory addresses how nations and states that initiate military intervention should act while in war. The Jus in Bello piece of the theory regulates and provides an ethical framework for judging whether actions whilst in war are ethical or unethical.…