Explorations on just war: has it ever existed?

Abstract

In this thesis, I present examples of non-adherence to Just War Doctrine and challenge whether the theory ought to be adhered to at all. My research is based on nation to nation and nation to international actor wars and addresses all three tenets of the Just War Doctrine: Jus in bello, Jus ad bellum and Jus pos bello. My writings suggest that since Just War Theory has not been adhered to in entirety within the last 100 years, standing by the theory may, in itself, be irrelevant. This theory was created to make addressing, committing and ending war the gravest of all man's acts, so severe in nature that there is no room for error. In fact, during the research of this thesis, a war that was fought justly according to tradition was not found. And, because Just War Doctrine decreed that in order for a war to exist justly, all tenets must be followed, this thesis has provided considerable evidence that for the last 100 years Just War Doctrine has not been adhered to and with the changing dimensions of warfare by terrorists, state and rogue actors, and increased interconnectedness through Globalization, Just War may never be relevant as it was in the early years of establishment.