Are Wars Ever Justifiable?

Justifiable: able to be shown to be right or reasonable; defensible.

  • I.e. if something is justifiable, there is a good reason for it.

The idea of trying to justify war might seem strange, considering the widespread suffering and pain it causes.

However, even if we might not agree with them, it is important to be aware of the reasoning warring parties use to defend and justify their participation in conflict, here are some examples:

Sources: Thomas Aquinas’ Just war theory: https://iep.utm.edu/justwar/, Saint Austine’s Just war theory: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40014967

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War

“The Armenian barbarians and vandals have razed the city of Agdam to the ground...we will return to this land, we will restore the destroyed cities.”

Former US President George W. Bush and the Iraq War

““[Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein is a serious threat... He is a significant problem. And it’s something that this country must deal with.””
 

Former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Falklands War

“We have to recover those islands, we have to recover them for the people on them are British … and they still owe allegiance to the crown and want to be British.”
 

Former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the Indo-Pakistani War

“Today, the war in Bangladesh has become a war on India...We have no other option but to put our country on a war footing. Our brave officers and jawans are at their posts, mobilized for the defense of the country.”
 

Former U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the Second World War

“We have but one aim and one single irrevocable purpose. We are resolved to destroy Hitler and every vestige of the Nazi regime. ”

Some questions you could ask yourself looking at these examples (remember, there are no wrong answers!):

  • Can you match any of the examples to the list of justifications in the table?

  • Do you agree with the politicians’ justifications of their part in war?

  • If you agree with some but not others, why?

  • Do you think war can ever truly be justifiable?