Just War Theory Regarding New Wars

Although the international organizations have been trying to maintain international society peace and order, it seems have failed as the numbers of the international military conflicts have not declined. One of the reasons why it is difficult to eliminate the numbers of the international military conflicts of today is said that it is difficult to accuse the offenders of the current international military conflicts of war crimes, for instance, in terms of current international law. Due to the difficulty, some politicians, such as Michael Ignatieff (2000), have found the way to determine whether or not the sovereign states would conduct the international military operations to eliminate the numbers of the international military conflicts of today in the so-called Just War Theory. This presentation, therefore, will introduce the Just War Theory regarding the current international military conflicts.

As you know, the history of the Just War Theory is prolonged; since the ancient Greece, the theory has been developed. As the basis of the current international law on wars is believed to be the Just War Theory, this presentation will introduce the influence of the moral philosophical consideration on how to carry out wars to the consideration of public international law, war treaties in particular. Then, this presentation will move to the contents; based on the categorization of the Just War Theory, jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and jus post bellum, this presentation will assign two key aspects from public international law; the principle of necessity and the principle of proportionality. The contents of this presentation, therefore, will be examining the six components which equal to two principles times three categories.

The conclusion of this presentation will be what the politicians should consider when the governments determine to participate in the international military operations to maintain the international peace and security.