Just War Theory for the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

Just War Theory (JWT) has stood the test of time. Though there have been many specific formulations of JWT over the centuries, and although JWT is no longer firmly anchored philosophically to its original religious, cultural, and philosophical moorings, its basic principles of jus ad bellum and jus in bello continue to inform both the practice of and analysis of politics and policy. Arguably, however, the operationalization of these basic principles must change to reflect both the changing nature of violent conflict in the world (e.g., that it is increasingly substate, diffuse, insurgent, and terroristic) and changes in the legal/normative context in which it occurs (e.g., in a highly globalized world more demanding of human rights and human security protections). How should we reconceive JWT accordingly? How does JWT relate to empirical motivations to go to war and how does this affect its (re-)conceptualization? Is there any prospect of a universally acceptable formulation? If not, why not, and what, if anything, should we do with JWT in view of this?

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