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1.TRUE or FALSE? Just War theory is a secular theory, a way of thinking about the morality of war without appealing to God or scripture.
2. TRUE or FALSE? Just War theory was first developed by Augustine.
3. Which of the following Latin phrases refers to rules in Just War theory that should govern the restoration of peace and justice in an enemy country after it has been defeated?
a. Jus in bello
b. jus post bellum
c. jus ad bellum
4. Which of the following is NOT one of the conditions for fighting what some Christians believe to be a Just War?
a. The war can only be fought as an act of self-defence if the enemy have attacked first.
b. Civilian casualties should be kept to a minimum and ideally, there should be none.
c. There must be a Just Cause – a genuinely moral reason for fighting the war.
d. War must be declared by a proper authority e.g. an elected leader or the United Nations.
e. The war can only be fought as a last resort after all peaceful ways of avoiding conflict have been tried.
5. TRUE or FALSE? Just Intention is different from Just Cause. It is to do with the motivation with which the war is fought. An example of wrong intention would be fighting a war out of hatred for an enemy. This could still happen even if a country is fighting for a Just Cause. An example of correct intention might be fighting out of love for, and the desire to protect, innocent civilians.
6. TRUE or FALSE? The jus ad bellum principle of Last Resort has been criticised by realists because an enemy might be giving the impression that they wish to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict in order to secretly manufacture and stockpile weapons that will provide them with a better chance of eventually winning on the battlefield.
7. Which of the following is NOT a jus post bellum principle?
a. Compensation
b. Rights Vindication
c. Likelihood of Success
d. Proportionality
e. Discrimination
8. TRUE or FALSE? A criticism of the principle of Likelihood of Success is that it may still be worth fighting against an evil enemy even when defeat is inevitable. Perhaps it is better to go down fighting knowing that right is on your side rather than lose your life anyway in an act of genocide after the enemy has won.
9. Which of the following is NOT a strength of Just War theory?
a. The rules provide moral standards against which the government initiating and fighting the war can be assessed by their own citizens.
b. The rules have influenced international laws governing armed conflict e.g. the UN Charter and the Hague and Geneva Conventions.
c. The rule about proportionality (which features in all three categories) helps to restrain subscribers to the theory from displays of excessive power e.g. through the use of WMD.
d. The rules provide a justification for different types of war e.g. civil war against a government that is oppressing its own people.
10. Which of the following is NOT a weakness of Just War theory?
a. Just War theory fails to respect the culture and traditions of a defeated enemy.
b. There is still the possibility of deception. For example, the leaders who declare war may lie to their citizens that they are fighting for a Just Cause when they have an ulterior motive for doing so.
c. The principle of Last Resort rules out pre-emptive action against an enemy that may be developing and prepared to use WMD or a potential terrorist attack.
d. The principle of Discrimination may not help at a time when terrorists are not always identifiable.
e. Just War theory does not indicate which of the rules in each category should take priority. e.g. when it comes to jus ad bellum, should Just Cause take priority? Or is fighting as a Last Resort to be preferred.
11. TRUE or FALSE? The Old Testament contains passages that support genocide.
12. Which of the following is NOT one of the teachings of Jesus that could be used in a discussion about the morality of war?
a. He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.
b. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
c. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.
d. If you do not have a sword, go sell your cloak and buy one.
13. TRUE or FALSE? Absolute Pacifists believe that war is wrong and can only be justified if it is the lesser of two evils.
14. TRUE or FALSE? The Quakers are an example of a Christian denomination that are Absolute Pacifists.
15. TRUE or FALSE? A possible strength of a pacifist approach to conflict is that the historical record shows that it can work e.g. see the examples of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.
16. TRUE or FALSE? The philosopher Brian Orend’s claim that ‘no nation state or empire has ever based its foreign policy on pacifism’ is correct?
17. Which of the following statements about realism or realpolitik (‘political realism’) is false?
a. Nations act purely on the basis of self interest. This is the way things have always been and should be.
b. Just War theory is therefore pointless and idealistic.
c. This is because sticking to restraining rules and laws is like trying to fight with one hand behind your back. Your enemy may not be doing the same. So morality is best left at home.
d. Christians may be unanimously opposed to political realism, but this simply shows how wrong they are.
18. TRUE or FALSE? ‘Unilateral disarmament’ is a phrase used to describe a process where countries with nuclear weapons aim to reduce or get rid of them together.
19. TRUE or FALSE? Many Christians are members of CND (the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) and many are also opposed to countries keeping nuclear weapons even as a deterrent.
20. TRUE or FALSE? The Church of England and the Catholic Church both believe in unilateral disarmament.
21. TRUE or FALSE? Deterrence theory – the theory that having nuclear weapons deters other countries that also have them from attacking you – has worked up until now.
22. TRUE or FALSE? An American law professor once suggested that the code numbers needed to launch a nuclear missile should be placed in a little capsule, and then implanted right next to the heart of a volunteer who accompanies the President at all times. The volunteer would carry with him a big, heavy butcher’s knife. If ever the President wanted to fire nuclear weapons, the only way he could do so would be for him first, with his own hands, to kill one human being.
23. TRUE or FALSE? Michael Walzer and John Rawls have argued that nuclear weapons should only be used in cases of ‘supreme emergency’ . An example of this was the atomic bombing of Japan at the end of World War 2.
ANSWERS
True – though Christians have made important contributions to the theory e.g. Augustine (Right Intention) and Aquinas (Proportionality in all three categories of Just War theory AND the Principle of Double Effect in relation to jus in bello or conduct during war).
EXAM TIP: You may get a question on religious or secular approaches to war. My view is that you CAN write about Just War theory in response to a question about religious approaches, as long as you point out that it is essentially a secular theory but one which deserves to be mentioned because of the fact that Christians have contributed so much to the development of it.
2. False – many textbooks make this claim. But the phrase ‘Just War’ was first used by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 – 322 BCE) in a book of his called ‘Politics’. Aristotle also contributed to the jus ad bellum principle of just cause. He argued that war in self-defence was morally justifiable. Augustine was not even the first Christian theologian to think about the justice of war. Tertullian, Origen and Augustine’s mentor Ambrose all made contributions.
EXAM TIP: it is actually a good idea to point this out in the examination if you get a chance to do so as you will be telling the examiner something they may not know, which will make your answer stand out a bit.
3. b
4. a
5. True
6. True
7. c
8. True
9. d – A Just War can only be started by a proper authority and the leader(s) of a civil war may not meet that criteria. Also St. Paul taught in Romans 13v1 that, ‘Everyone must submit to the supreme authorities.’ He probably meant that Christians should put up with unjust rulers as God will eventually put things right. This teaching could potentially be used against Christian supporters of Liberation Theology.
10. In a sense, Just War theory DOES respect the culture, traditions and laws of a defeated enemy as far as possible, particularly those which uphold the human rights of enemy citizens (see Rights Vindication in the jus post bellum category). However, there have been exceptions e.g. at the end of WW2, the Japanese were discouraged from dying for their Emperor on the basis that he was believed by many to be a god.
As far as deception is concerned, the invasion of Iraq is possibly a classic example of this. The war was described as a Just War in some circles but critics of the invasion argue that it was really fought to gain control of Iraqi oil supplies rather than to remove an evil dictator (Saddam Hussein) who was allegedly maintaining WMD and had links to al-Qaeda.
11. True – the book of Joshua contains this passage: ‘He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.’ Then there is 1 Samuel 15 in which a prophet (Samuel) conveys a message from God telling the first Jewish king (Saul) to wipe out an entire race of people. On the other hand, one of the 10 Commandments is ‘Thou shalt not kill’, though that may have originally only applied to relationships between the Jewish tribes. Anyone else was fair game.
12. c – The reference to the two-edged sword comes from the New Testament book of Hebrews 4v12. Remember that although Jesus did make statements (e.g. ‘love your enemies’, ‘blessed are the peacemakers’) that were enough to convince many Christians that he was a pacifist (e.g. Martin Luther King), the evidence for this is not conclusive, as you can probably tell from two of the passages quoted here.
13. False – Absolute Pacifists believe that wars are always wrong, without exception. For this reason, they reject Just War theory on the grounds that war can never be just
14. True – at times of war, Quakers become conscientious objectors. This means that they will refuse to take part in armed conflict because of the potential for loss of life. However, some may take on roles that help to alleviate the suffering war causes e.g. working in a military hospital.
15. False – it is sometimes claimed that Mandela was a pacifist but this is unlikely. A better example is Gandhi. It is also worth bearing in mind that the reason why King and Gandhi were successful was because the US government and the British colonial administration were prepared to listen to them. This tactic would not have worked with a more aggressive enemy e.g. someone like Hitler, or an organisation like ISIS.
16. True – However, the example of the ancient Indian Emperor Asoka (c. 268 – c. 232 BCE) possibly demonstrates that at least the internal affairs of an entire nation could be conducted along pacifist lines.
17. d- This statement is false because there are Christian realists too. They believe that violence may be necessary to eventually bring about a peaceful Kingdom of God on earth.
18. False – multilateral disarmament is the correct term for this process.
19. True – the Quakers are pacifists and opposed to keeping nuclear weapons. Monsignor Bruce Kent is a former Catholic priest and currently the vice-president of CND.
20. False – they both believe that nuclear weapons should only be kept as a deterrent to prevent war and must never actually be used. They also believe that countries should work towards reducing their nuclear stockpiles through multilateral disarmament
21. True – the West and Russia exist in a state of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) but many other countries also have nuclear weapons, which increases the possibility of one of them risking a pre-emptive (first) strike against an enemy. There is also a risk that a nuclear war may start by accident because of a computer malfunction. Plus, in 1980, a nuclear missile nearly detonated in its own silo as a result of a nuclear accident in the USA.
22. True – the name of the professor was Roger Fisher. This thought experiment could be used by anti-nuclear campaigners to defend their view. Supporters of political realism could be criticised on the grounds that – when push comes to shove – almost no-one would do this, which in turn demonstrates that the use of nuclear weapons is immoral.
23. False – for Walzer, a ‘supreme emergency’ is a situation where an enemy is known to be about to win a conflict and is expected to massacre and enslave the citizens of the country that loses after they win. These conditions were not satisfied in the case of Japan at the end of WW2. Both Walzer and Rawls note that the Just War conditions of non-combatant immunity and discrimination were violated when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.