This paper seeks to establish a working description. This article on just war and terrorism first appeared in the summer 2016 issue of providences print edition last august. The general issue of the validity of justwar thought with regard to nuclear war is a dividing line between two quite distinct general approaches to justwar ethics, which i will call realist and nuclear pacifist, and helps uncover their diverse goals for the use of justwar thought. In the catholic tradition, there has always been a concept of a just war. The acts of war should be directed towards enemy combatants, and not towards noncombatants caught in circumstances they did not create. Apr 22, 20 one could easily take a more pacifist stance than just war theory as described here or a more warlike stance than complete pacifism. Discipleship and the ethics of war, violence and the use of force kindle edition by harold palmer. Contingent pacifists claim to disagree with just war theory. This is a body of thought that seeks to provide guidelines for when it is justified for one nation to wage war on another. Revolution and civil war just war theory states that a just war must have just authority. Worksheet on just war, pacifism and strategic peace building just war just war justum bellum, as we know it today, is a theory and tradition from the early christian philosopher, st.
The proper application of just war theory is the articulation of a unified and globally acceptable mandate concerning moral viability. At a superficial level, niebuhr seemed to be aligned with classical just war theory due to his rejection of pacifism. On this understanding, noncombatants are innocent while combatants are not, irrespective of whether combatants are fighting in a just or an unjust war. Although the doctrines of pacifism and the theory of the just war are in a sense rivais, it is not possible to decide. Pacifism for many means an anti war stance, but pacifism can also be construed as a broader theory incorporating doctrines of nonviolence, passive resistance, and moral purity. Beginning with the duty of nonviolence as a point of convergence between the two rival traditions, miller provides an. The main idea to be defended here unfortunately, in a sketchy manner, that even just war is regrettable, can be found in saint augustine, the official creator of the christian just war doctrine.
Millers study of the ethics of war could not be more timely. What is hard to imagine is a christian argument for being more warlike than just war and what is literally impossible to imagine is a way to be less warlike than the complete rejection of violence. A01 21 the just war theory maintains that war may be justified if fought only in certain circumstances, and only if certain restrictions are applied to the way in which war is fought. Alternatives, just war theory, and pacifism oxford scholarship. Augustine is noted in history as the founder of just war theory in the western tradition the islamic world has its own tradition of just war theory based on the koran. Just war theory and a thoughtful realist one important theory within international relations shows a moral aspect on how to conduct war. At its most general, after all, just war theory says that it is possible for a war to be just, and contingent pacifism, by definition, agrees with that. View this essay on understanding the application of pacifism and just war theory in real life scenarios.
With todays world torn by violence and conflict, richard b. Both pacifism and an overlystrict just war theory are inappropriate responses to the war on terror, theologian william abraham argued monday at the institute on. Pacifists and just war theorists both condemn terrorism. Once war has begun, just war theory also directs how combatants are to act. The first is from an encyclopedia of war and ethics and the second is an online source from the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Discipleship, pacifism and just war theory provides an excellent introduction to questions of peacemaking and warmaking in the history of western christianity. Pacifists have to consider whether military force is a permissible option in response to catastrophic terrorist attack. Far from seeking to be merely an academic or disembodied reiteration of theory, she recalls our past in order to motivate us to be faithful today. Questions of pacifism and just war, which have preoccupied christian thinkers from time to time over the past 1700 years, are given distinctive treatment in this book as it discusses biblical sources for the questions, builds on historical examples both of just war theory and of pacifism, and shows how christian pacifism is a live option in many contexts. On contrast, if warfare is justified the methods and means employed in fighting a war are still restricted through ethical considerations. In a world riven with conflict, violence and war, this book proposes a philosophical defense of pacifism. However, there is evidence of a warriors code in almost every prenonchristian culture. That is not how contingent pacifists of the species i. Just war theory, pacifism, responsibility to protect, r2p, last resort oxford scholarship online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service.
Understanding the application of pacifism and just war. Just peace theory is an active theory that promotes practices leading to the reduction of violence in all arenas and at all levels, from fights in the schoolyard to ethnic conflicts and beyond. Although the emphasis on pacifism as an anti war doctrine is the focus of this article, the other nuances of the theory need to be noted. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Nonetheless, despite this indebtedness, as the just war theory developed, theologians used different grounds from which to justify their arguments. There are several different sorts of pacifism, but they all include the idea that war and violence are unjustifiable, and that conflicts should be settled in a peaceful way. A special part of the interest of just war theory is that it is built on a long and rich historical development, just as a special part of the interest of the just war tradition is that it is the history. It is only about wars in this sense that pacifists and nonpacifists disagree.
Outline the concepts of just war and pacifism 1943 words 8 pages. Reinhold niebuhr, christian realism, and just war theory. Leading philosopher of nonviolence robert holmes contends that neither just war theory nor the rationales for recent wars vietnam, the gulf war, the iraq and afghanistan. The metaethics of pacifism and just war theory holmes. Although the context should make it clear, most of my claims will be about wars in the second sense, which can be evaluated as just or unjust. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter. However, there is evidence of a warrior s code in almost every prenonchristian culture. Pacifism and realism are essentially contradicting in their supposition on ethics of war. Project muse a note on the relation of pacifism and just. Subsequent to just war theory, there are two opposing groups that present differing views. This article argues that pacifism is best understood and defended not as a noble but untenable ideal, nor as a watered down version of just war theory, nor even as a strategic commitment to the.
And defenders of the just war ideal have to ask how terrorism and a war on terrorism fit within the purview of the traditional just war theory. First, she provides a historical overview of christian views of pacifism and just war. Pacifism is often located on a continuum for assessing the morality of war that includes realism, just war theory, and pacifism. Niebuhrs rejection of classical just war thinking reflected part of his departure from a more traditional christian realism grounded in natural law. A theological analysis of pacifism and just war theory. Peach only rarely have feminist theorists addressed the adequacy of just war theory, a set of principles developed over hundreds of years to assess the justice of going to war and the morality of conduct in war.
Use the link below to share a fulltext version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Pacifism, overlystrict just war theory, both problematic. To the extent that this is interpreted as a legitimate government, this leaves little room for revolutionary war or civil war, in which an illegitimate entity may declare war for reasons that fit the remaining criteria of just war theory. Miller brings together the opposed traditions of pacifism and justwar theory and puts them into a muchneeded dialogue on the ethics of war.
Indeed, there is an ongoing debate about the proper relation between just war theory and pacifism that focuses on the question of whether the just war theory begins with a pacifist presumption against war. The idea that avoiding war is a fundamental duty stems from the kantian tradition. So how could there be a difference as far as the barest understanding of these terms is concerned. In just war theory as it has standardly been interpreted for at least the last two. It argues that there is a moral presumption against war and unless that presumption is defeated, war is unjustified. Pacifism is a very religious but at the same time peaceful and the right view. The pacifist tradition and pacifism as transformative and. Pacifists and just war theorists both condemn terrorism, since terrorists deliberately attack innocent persons. Wars embrace killing of people which is an awful ethical wrong. Just war theory is not just a premise variable as many would suggest, but a constant articulation of law enforcement. Just war theory, realism and pacifism introduction this essay compares and contrasts the three vital theories in relation to war and ethics associated with them. Augustine commented on the morality of war from a christian perspective, as did several arabic commentators from the 9th to the 12th centuries. In just war theory as it has standardly been interpreted for at least the last two centuries, innocent has meant unthreatening. Thomas aquinas provided the most celebrated and still discussed the main outlines of just war theory.
Even though a war can be justified, it doesnt mean it is a good idea to start it. Pacifism and just war theory after 911 springerlink. Just war theory has a long history in the western intellectual tradition. The prohibited acts include bombing civilian residential areas that include no military target and committing acts of terrorism or reprisal against civilians.
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