Augustine's Just War Theory

Just War is a theory and at most times a universal code that all countries live by when concerning war. It is still being used today often. This theory has been an extremely controversial issue especially with the war in Iraq. While although St. Augustine is accredited to creating and introducing the theory of Just War he was not the main contributor, Thomas Aquinas continued the theory to make it into a formula and to specify the criteria in concordance with military tactics. (source) (source)


Saint Augustine’s view of war was stated in his writings.

“Notice that there can be no life without pain, but no pain without some kind of life. In t he same way that there can be peace without any kind of war, but no war that does not suppose some kind of peace. This does not mean that war as war involves peace; but war, in so far as those who wage it or have it waged upon them are being with organic means to be ordered and, therefore, to be, in some sense, at peace ”(Augustine 457)

While although Augustine did not deny that war was always going to occur, his idea was that there would be a certain way in conducting it. This idea would be that the fight for a war would be in effort to reach peace, instead of fighting to just kill. The people declaring war and the people having war declared upon them both need to follow these certain rules. Augustine was under the opinion that war was always an effort for man and this was from the fact that man has a sinful nature. He figured that war is inevitable. (source) (Augustine)


From one source we can see a series of eight conditions that Augustine included in his idea of just war. “1.) A punitive concept of war, 2.) assessment of the evil of war in terms of the moral evil of attitudes and desires, (3) a search for authorization for the use of violence, (4) a dualistic epistemology which gives priority to spiritual goods, (5) interpretation of evangelical norms in terms of inner attitudes,(6) passive attitude to authority and social change, (7) use of Biblical texts to legitimate participation in war, and (8) an analogical conception of peace.” (source)


To clarify and put in simpler terms the Just War theory is made up of three distinct parts the first is Jus ad Bellum, the second is Jus in Bello, and the third Jus post Bellum. The first one includes just cause, comparative justice, legitimate authority, right intention, probability of success, last resort, and proportionality. The second part is made up of different actions the countries must take while in war which includes distinction (combat only toward enemy soldiers, and not civilians), proportionality (anticipation on what the outcome will be), and military necessity (the limitation of excessive combat). Lastly the third concept is of ending the war properly. This includes just cause that you completed the mission, right intention good conditions and no revenge, public declaration, it is known, discrimination the truth is more important, and proportionality the allowance of human and country rights bust be kept. (source) (Mattox)


Each country when being created needs to base its concept of war on this in order to make this theory work, even St. Augustine agreed with this when he said in his book City of God: “This explains why a father must apply certain regulations of civil law to the governance of his home, so as to make it accord with the peace of the whole community.” (Augustine) (Elshtain)


Its incredible that after all these years our world still uses this theory in fact, many of the big and meaningful ideas we use today were created back in history before the technology it makes you think that maybe the technology is not as helpful as we think. These ideas and concepts that Augustine created are very useful and true today these are needed to have at least somewhat of an ordered world.



Book Sources:


Augustine. City of God. Doubleday: New York; 1958.


Elshtain, Jean Bethke. Just War Against Terror: The Burden of American Power in a
Violent World. Basics Books: New York; 2003


Mattox, John Mark. Saint Augustine and the Theory of Just War. Continuum: New York;
2006.