Theme Section War And The Morality Of Risk

Modern just war theory presents war as a rulegoverned activity, regulated by two kinds of moral rules: jus ad bellum (just resort to war) and jus in bello (just conduct of war). This paper addresses to what extent, if any, soldiers are required to risk their lives in order to minimize the harm done to enemy civilians in a war that is fought justly. This problem pertains to the jus in bello criterion of discrimination, which requires differentiating enemy noncombatants (civilians) from enemy combatants (soldiers) who alone are legitimate targets of military attack. My central claim is that a morality of risk, as developed by Michael Walzer, overcomes the defects of the doctrine of double effect, the standard moral principle for discussing discrimination, while preserving its insights. The task is to highlight the significance of the morality of risk, understood as a peculiar morality of war zones that cannot be reduced to a general morality of human conduct. This morality of risk requires soldiers to take additional risks on themselves to save enemy civilians.