tonight to talk about the ethics of war. Now to some minds this phrase “the ethics of war” will likely cause raised eyebrows. “The ethics of war? What can ethics possibly have to do with war? Isn’t war evil?” Well, of course it is. War is a terrible thing. The existence and prevalence of war in history is, in fact, ample testimony to the depravity and wickedness of Man. The conduct of war involves the intentional killing of human beings and the destruction of property. War inevitably causes untold
Ethics, in politics, can be used as a ‘code of conduct’ – a set of rules or norms for diplomatic behaviour. When considering ethics as a constraint on states and political institutions, it can be argued to be powerful and influential. However, the question of whether politics can be improved by ethics is debatable. The aim of this essay is to highlight evidence for and against the notion of whether ethics can constrain and improve politics through the use of realism and cosmopolitanism, their arguments
invasion in Iraq a legitimate humanitarian intervention? Whether the 2003 invasion in Iraq was a legitimate humanitarian intervention or not, is two folded. For instance, when viewed in the perspective of protecting the Iraqi citizens from the inhumane reign that they were subjected to, the invasion can said to be legitimate humanitarian intervention. On the other hand, when the invasion is seen in terms of its aftermath such as the destruction caused by it, the unpredictability nature of the war (Lambeth
‘WikiLeaks and the Iraq War Logs’ had shocked the population across the globe, leaving a tragic imprint in our minds from the 400,000 classified logs. Bradley Manning, the leaker, wanted to ‘change the world for the better’. However, the word ‘better’ have caused unlimited questions to be raised, which allowed us to reassess the impact it had put out into the world. Views were varied through different perceptions, whether it was better or worst for the society. Nonetheless, in order to judge the
Accountability: After reviewing the just war theory in relation to the war in Iraq, it is assessed the Iraq war did not meet the requirements for the Iraq war. Michael Walzer stated that, ‘the Iraq war was an unnecessary war and unnecessary wars are also unjust wars’ (Religion and Ethics news weekly, 2009, Online). As a result, the Iraq war did not have a plausible cause or authorisation for intervention. Due to the failure to assess whether Iraq did conceal WMD, Weapons inspector David Kay argues
There are two types of theories that are related to war. They are: ‘Just War Theory’ and ‘Pacifism’. Just war theory (Jus In Bello - “Law of war”) is a belief and a tradition on the ethics of war and peace. It justifies how and why are fought. The justification can be separated into historical or theoretical. The founders of “Just War Theory” are Aristotle, Cicero and Augustine. The historical aspects/ the just war theory deals with agreements or rules that are applied for a long time. For example
2015 Persian Gulf & Iraq War The Persian Gulf/ Iraq War was one of the longest wars in American history. The Iraq War alone lasted nine years, and the Persian Gulf War lasted a little over a year. Many veterans faced hardships upon returning home. These hardships include: illness, homelessness, and unemployment in the midst of one of America 's worst economic depressions in history. Shouldn 't veterans be treated better? The Persian Gulf War, otherwise known as the Gulf War was an international
As the world witnessed the horrors of 9/11 and the ensuing Global War on Terror committed by different belligerents, it found itself in an ethical debate as how it was to respond to this reality. The Church found itself in a particularly peculiar situation as it is widely regarded as a moral compass a majority of all people of earth. In an attempt to tackle the ethical and moral issues with the question of whether or not to sanction an armed effort to defend against terrorism, the Church very often
Iraq borders Turkey to the North and Iran to the East. Iraq was colonized by Great Britain in particular, British efforts to colonize and govern Iraq were miscalculated and self serving, resulting in the creation of an unbalanced and violent nation, divided along ethic and separation lines of many different ethnic backgrounds. The failures of the Cairo Conference along with the lack of understanding between Britain’s understanding of the Arab nationalist movement and the appointment of Faisal as
Why do some states engage in war? This has been a crucial question for humanity as well as for many international relations scholars that study the relationship between states and how they coexist in the international context. Throughout history, many influential thinkers have come up with theories to explain the nature of the international system and the behavior of states. Liberal theories such as the democratic peace theory argue that war can be justifiable if it represents the establishment of