The Ethics of War and Peace - MIDTERM 10/15

Blockade

The military tactic of denying the delivery of essential goods (food, medicine, supplies) to opposing soldiers and civilian populations.

Progressive Disarmament

The moral framework advocated by Catholic bishops involving the gradual reduction of nuclear arsenals, termination of testing, and eventual total elimination of nuclear weapons.

Autonomous Weapons

Military weapon systems capable of selecting and engaging targets without human intervention, raising key ethical concerns regarding accountability and human dignity.

Multilateralism

Appeal for collective international cooperation military or diplomatic action conducted by multiple nations (example response to AI) global common good and emphasizes disarmament.

Outcome Responsibility

Moral accountability tied directly to the actual consequences and destruction produced by a military action, regardless of initial intent.

Remedial Responsibility

The ethical obligation under jus post bellum to repair, reconstruct, and rectify damage inflicted upon a society after hostilities cease.

Reconstruction

The post-war rebuilding of physical infrastructure, economic systems, and civic institutions necessary for societal flourishing (jus post bellum).

Reconciliation

The post-conflict process of restoring peaceful social relations and trust between formerly opposing nations or groups (jus post bellum).

Reasonable Prospect of Success

A jus ad bellum criterion requiring that war will successfully redress the initial harm and achieve its peaceful aim; if war cannot achieve this purpose, it should not be launched.

Last Resort

A jus ad bellum criterion requiring that all nonviolent alternatives (diplomacy, negotiations, sanctions) have been genuinely exhausted or are unfeasible.

Proportionality (Jus ad bellum)

The criterion stipulating that the overall harms and destruction caused by entering war must not outweigh the evils being prevented or redressed.

Proportionality (Jus in bello)

The criterion requiring that unintended civilian casualties and collateral damage must not be excessive in relation to the direct military advantage anticipated.

Discrimination

The core jus in bello criterion requiring combatants to strictly distinguish between legitimate military targets (combatants) and protected noncombatants (civilians).

Sanctions

Non-military punitive measures (economic, financial, or political) used to compel state compliance prior to resorting to armed conflict. Alternatives avoiding using force but effective measures that should only be targeted to combatants of war.

Second Lateran Council (1123)

A medieval church council that officially enshrined protections for noncombatants (Peace and Truce of God) and banned weapons like the crossbow.

Combatant / Noncombatant

Combatants are active military personnel posing harm; noncombatants are civilians and individuals not actively engaged in hostilities.

Collateral Damage

Unintended yet foreseeable civilian harm or loss of life resulting from a strike against a legitimate military target.

Disinformation

False or misleading information spread deliberately to deceive the public, undermine an adversary, or influence international opinion during wartime.

Energy Warfare

Military action aimed at choking, seizing, or disrupting vital energy supplies, oil routes, or shipping corridors (e.g., closing the Strait of Hormuz).

Jus ad bellum (just cause)

The branch of just war theory outlining six criteria required to morally justify entering into armed conflict.

Jus in bello (war conduct)

The branch of just war theory establishing criteria (discrimination and proportionality) to govern conduct during warfare.

Jus post bellum (ending warfare)

The branch of ethical theory defining moral responsibilities for ending war, post-conflict reconstruction, and peacebuilding.

Just Authority

A jus ad bellum criterion requiring war to be declared by a legitimate sovereign charged with the common good, prohibiting private violence.

Just Cause

A jus ad bellum criterion requiring that the party being attacked committed a severe fault or wrong requiring correction (e.g., defense against aggression).

Right Intention

A jus ad bellum criterion requiring that war seeks to advance good, avoid evil, and that its intention must be achieving a just peace.

Siege of Mariupol (Feb 24 – May 20, 2022)

Def: Prolonged Russian siege of a Ukrainian coastal city with indiscriminate bombardment of civilian sites, causing ~22k deaths and 95% destruction. | Sig: Illustrates severe violations of jus in bello (discrimination) and the devastation of trapping noncombatants in urban sieges.

Battle for Hormuz / Strait of Hormuz

Def: Maritime conflict where Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz (crucial global oil transit route), triggering naval blockades and energy warfare. | Sig: Demonstrates modern energy warfare and blockades, raising ethics issues regarding indirect civilian harm via global economic disruption.

Peace of God

Def: 10th-century church movement establishing protections for church property, clergy, the poor, and agricultural livelihoods. | Sig: One of the earliest historical foundations of noncombatant immunity and the jus in bello principle of discrimination.

Truce of God

Def: 11th-century decree banning warfare on specific holy days/weekends while protecting farm animals and crops. | Sig: Served as an early institutional restraint on the scope and temporal destructiveness of armed combat.

Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10)

Def: Gospel text cited by Paul Ramsey arguing neighbor-love commands protecting an innocent victim from attack. | Sig: Foundational Christian justification for defensive force (protecting the innocent) while simultaneously constraining force (forbidding direct harm to innocents).

Siege Warfare

Def: Military strategy of surrounding and isolating a position to force surrender via starvation and disease. | Sig: Analyzed by Michael Walzer as an inherently indiscriminate tactic that violates noncombatant immunity unless civilians receive safe passage.

Guerilla Warfare

Def: Unconventional warfare where fighters intentionally operate without uniforms and blend into civilian populations. | Sig: Deliberately blurs combatant/noncombatant distinctions, placing moral strain on forces attempting to uphold discrimination.

Principle of Double Effect

Def: Moral rule permitting an action with both good (intended) and bad (unintended foreseeable) effects, if bad is not the aim, not the means, and proportionate. | Sig: Primary ethical framework for evaluating civilian collateral damage during attacks on legitimate targets.

Deterrence

Def: Dissuading attacks by threatening unacceptable retaliatory destruction (e.g., nuclear retaliation). | Sig: Deemed morally unacceptable in principle by Catholic bishops for targeting civilians, but tolerated temporarily strictly as a step toward progressive disarmament.

No First Use Policy

Def: A military pledge never to be the first party to launch nuclear weapons in a conflict. | Sig: Defended by the USCCB because initiating nuclear war targets innocent populations and risks unmanageable escalation.

Magnifica humanitas

Def: Catholic theological concept emphasizing human dignity and moral responsibility across international affairs. | Sig: Anchors post-war peacebuilding (jus post bellum) in restorative human dignity rather than punitive conquest.

Pentagon/Anthropic Dispute

Def: High-profile dispute between defense officials and AI tech developers over safety guardrails on military AI deployment. | Sig: Highlights modern debates surrounding automated warfare, corporate responsibility, and human oversight in combat technology.

Valeria Shashenok

Ukrainian social media creator who documented bomb shelter life during the Russian invasion, illustrating digital media in war.

Henry Shue

Ethics scholar who analyzed jus ad bellum standards for reasonable prospect of success, last resort, and proportionality.

G.E.M. Anscombe

Author of "War and Murder," defining murder as deliberate killing of innocents versus justified collateral damage via double effect.

Michael Walzer

Philosopher who critically evaluated the ethical dilemmas of sieges, blockades, and guerrilla warfare.

USCCB

U.S. Catholic Bishops who authored The Challenge of Peace (1983) evaluating nuclear weapons and deterrence.

Pope Leo XIV

Catholic Pope who condemned the war in Iran and criticized attacks on civilian energy infrastructure.

Amos

Hebrew Bible prophet who condemned war atrocities, including exiling whole communities and violence against women.

Apostle Paul

Author of Romans 13, stating governing authorities are established by God and "bear the sword" against wrongdoers.

Augustine

5th-century Bishop and "father of just war theory" who grounded military service in neighbor-love aimed at peace.

Honoré Bonet

14th-century monk who expanded noncombatant immunity to include agricultural laborers.

Thomas Aquinas

13th-century theologian who formulated the 3 core criteria for going to war: Just Authority, Just Cause, Right Intention.

Paul Ramsey

Ethicist who used the Good Samaritan parable to articulate modern noncombatant discrimination ("what justifies war restrains war").