What is a 'just cause'?

What is a 'just cause'?

What is a 'just cause'?

A war is only just if it is fought for a reason that is justified, and that carries sufficient moral weight. The country that wishes to use military force must demonstrate that there is a just cause to do so.

The main just cause is to put right a wrong. Sometimes a war fought to prevent a wrong from happening may be considered a just war.

In modern times wars to defend the innocent are increasingly regarded as just (which fits with the idea in some religious literature that it is better to defend an innocent than to defend oneself).

Just causes

Self-defence:

• invasion: The clearest example of a just cause is self-defence against an aggressor. For example when an enemy has crossed your borders and invaded your territory. But an actual invasion is not required. The self-defence cases below are less obviously just causes for war - whether they are or not depends on how severe a particular case is:
  • assassination of a prominent person: - a monarch or president
  • attack on national honour: (eg burning the flag, attacking an embassy)
  • attack on state religion
  • economic attack:(trade embargo or sanctions)
  • attack on a neighbour or ally
  • preemptive strike: attacking the enemy to prevent an anticipated attack by them. Preemptive strikes may no longer be acceptable by UN members, since the Charter says that short of actual attack, "all Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means" (Article 2:3)
• Assisting an invaded friendly nation.
• Human rights violations: Another common example is putting right a violation of human rights so severe that force is the only sensible response.
• To punish an act of aggression: This is not accepted by everyone. Some people would say that a war of punishment can never be a just war.

Definitions

St. Augustine's view

St. Augustine said there were three just causes:

• defending against attack
• recapturing things taken
• punishing people who have done wrong

Each of these can be seen as an act of justice: they harm someone who deserves to be harmed because they have done wrong.

A modern definition

In 1993 the US Catholic Conference defined just cause like this:

Punishment

There are three groups of people that might be in line for punishment:

• The whole people of another country.
• The leaders of another courntry.
• Private individuals in another country.

A war of punishment would only be just if it was in proportion to the crime and was the only way to achieve the desired end.

Violation of human rights

Let's look at a couple of ways of expanding this idea...

• A war is just if force is the only way to stop the triumph of evil.
  • This appears helpful, but the difficulty is deciding on what is 'evil', since not all potential enemies are as obviously evil as the Hitler regime in World War II.

• A war is just in order to put right acts 'that shock the moral conscience of mankind.'
  • This formula is perhaps more helpful, because it says that war is just in order to deal with things that would shock almost everyone.