Distributing the Harm of Just Wars: In Defence of an Egalitarian Baseline

The book argues that the risk of harm in armed conflict should be divided equally between combatants and enemy non-combatants, and that the Minimal Harm Requirement (MHR) should be adopted to assess which risk impositions are reasonable. It will be of interest to students of just war theory, ethics, security studies, and international relations.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 196 pages
Publication date: 25 September 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book makes a compelling argument that the risk of harm in armed conflict should be shared equally between combatants and enemy non-combatants. According to international law, combatants in war are obligated to take all feasible precautions to minimize damage to civilian objects, injury to civilians, and incidental loss of civilian life. However, the interpretation of what constitutes "feasible precautions" and what level of harm is considered "sufficiently minimized" remains ambiguous. This lack of clarity makes it challenging to assess whether a particular war or offensive meets these legal requirements.

Just war theorists often assert that simply avoiding the intention to harm innocent civilians is not sufficient, but there is a need for greater clarity in the literature regarding what this means. One crucial aspect that is often overlooked is determining the appropriate baseline distribution of risk. The Minimal Harm Requirement (MHR), proposed by this book, states that combatants should strive to reduce the mere foreseen harm to enemy non-combatants to the lowest reasonable level. To evaluate the reasonableness of risk impositions, an egalitarian baseline is suggested, which implies that risk of harm should be distributed equally between just combatants and unjust non-combatants, all other things being equal.

This book will be of immense interest to students of just war theory, ethics, security studies, and international relations. It offers a comprehensive examination of the principles and challenges associated with minimizing harm in armed conflict, providing valuable insights into the complex dynamics of warfare and the ethical considerations involved in conducting military operations.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367740856