Just War Theory

• Why was just war theory initially developed?

  Because Christian authorities found a tension between Jesus' commands to resist violence and situations in which they found violence to be necessary
• Who were influential in the development of the theory?

  Augustine and Aquinas
• What are the two main elements in just war theory?


  Jus ad Bellum and jus in bello
• What is jus ad bellum?


  The consideration of whether it is right to go to war
• Jus ad bellum 1st principle


  There has to be a just cause
• Jus ad bellum 2nd principle


  War can only be declared by a legitimate authority
• Jus ad bellum 3rd principle


  War must be fought with the right intention
• Jus ad bellum 4th principle


  There has to be a reasonable probability of success
• Jus ad bellum 5th principle


  War must be the last resort
• Jus ad bellum 6th principle

  There must be proportionality - benefits must be proportionate to harm caused
• What is jus in bello?


  Rules under which a war must be fought once it has begun
• Jus in bello 1st principle

  There has to be a principle of discrimination
• Jus in bello 2nd principle


  Proportionality of means to ends - the means used to fight the war must be proportionate to the ends required
• What is discrimination?


  If weapons can discriminate then they can have specific targets eg military targets. Most theologians argue that the use of weapons of mass destruction can never discriminate since they are more likely to hurt civilians rather than military targets
• Do weapons of mass destruction abide to proportionality


  They do not meet proportionality clauses. Eg principle 6 jus ad bellum, harm done by such weapons can never be proportionate to the good aimed at
• Probability of success with weapons of mass destruction

  With the new weapons in development, it is likely it would cause irreversible destruction and the earth would never be the same. It would not just end the war but potentially humanity
• Why do some Christians believe that just war theory cannot be applied to weapons of mass destruction?

  Evil threatened or caused by them would be out of proportion to any hoped for good effects; could never be just.