“Is There Such Thing As a Just War”

War is a conflict between two groups of people, Whether it is a civil war or a war for just asserting dominance. Its all love and glory, after the war has been fought and won but what really is upsetting is the amount of humanity that has been lost in battle. War is and should be considered as a last resort and a thing which should never occur to ones mind. Whether a thing like a just war even exists is a question that will keep on being asked. But what I am able to investigate and deduce is whether is there are any arguments which support each point of view.

Many inhabitants of various countries believe that a just war is a battle in which is fought fairly until there is a victorious party. But in reality it can be described in a multitude of ways here are a few conditions which qualify for a just war:

• It must be fought by a legal recognised authority, e.g., a government
• The cause of the war must be just
• The war must be fought with the intention to establish good or correct evil
• There must be a reasonable chance of success
• Only sufficient force must be used and civilians must not be involved

A very strong example which portrays the adamant feelings of people is during Hitler’s reign of terror. Adolf Hitler had invaded Poland and an underground resistance force had formed to repel the invading Nazis who were hauling off train loads of people to death camps to be tortured and executed. In a case like this it would be highly recommended that the Realist act in any way, including killing people, in order to undermine the invading force. When you are defending against an invading tyrant who is committing horrific crimes, it is just and moral to stop them.

Unfortunately a war effort isn’t clearly right or wrong, moral or immoral, or the good guys against the bad guys. Sometime it’s bad guys against bad guys. Sometimes there is a mixture of good and bad elements. There are sometimes ways to participate that are productive even in an unjust war. This is why no one can create hard and fast rules that apply to every situation. Each conflict is unique and has to be dealt with individually. That is why Realists must think things through, come up with a plan for peace, and execute that plan so that whatever the situation is, the Realist can make it better.

The Just War theory is a philosophy reconciled largely of three things:

• Taking human life is very wrong.
• States have a duty to defend their citizens, and defend justice.
• Protecting innocent human life and defending important moral values sometimes requires willingness to use force and violence.

The aim of the Just War theory is to provide a guide to the right way for people to act in potential conflict situations. It only applies to groups of people, and not to individuals (although an individual can use the theory to help them decide whether it is morally right to take part in a particular war).The theory is not intended to justify wars but to prevent them, by showing that going to war except in certain limited circumstances is wrong, and thus motivate people to find other ways of resolving conflicts. A war is only a Just War if it is both justified, and carried out in the right way. Some wars fought for noble causes have been rendered unjust because of the way in which they were fought.

Personally I believe war should be a thing of the past and something which should remain not mentioned. Whether it meets a certain criteria to make it just it shouldn’t matter, in the first place this disastrous event should never occur again.Wars take place because there is either a huge disagreement or a hatred between the two opposing sides, furthermore to prevent this from repeating there should be an alternative way which resolves the issue of unnecessary conflict. Overall the possibility of a just war happening is uncertain as it can be decided by the reasons why the war has taken place and how many casualties there were. So for this reason a just war can only be decided if it meets certain criteria’s.

References:Church Of Reality, BBC GCSE Bite size. Library Book: Wars.