Ancient Just War Theory in Modern Times

Although the just war theory from Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine, and Saint Thomas Aquinas derive from antiquity, their theories are still being used today. When President Obama won the Nobel Peace prize in 2009 he directly referenced the just war theory from antiquity.

Like ancient theories of just war, President Obama recognizes the connection between war and peace and our efforts to replace one with the other. President Obama says that wars appeared with the first man and it is a natural part of the human experience. He also believes that there are certain criteria that constitute a just war and just reasons to go to war. His conditions for a just war are very similar to those of ancient theorists: "if it is waged as a last resort or in self-defense; if the force used is proportional; and if, whenever possible, civilians are spared from violence".

President Obama believes that the modern context for a just war has changed for the explicit reason that we are living in a nuclear age where complete destruction of mankind is well within reach. He believes that it is for this reason that now, more than ever, we should avoid wars because the consequences could be so costly. President Obama appears to try to move away from the idea of a just war for peace and rather an ideal of pacifism. President Obama quotes Martin Luther King Jr.: "Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely created new and more complicated ones."President Obama then goes on to say that he is "a living testimony to the moral force of non-violence."

For President Obama war is a necessary part of leading the United States and that is why it is important to engage is just wars.