Towards a New Liberal Theory of Just War

Abstract

AbstractIn chapter 6, we set out the puzzle of benevolent conditional aggression. In this chapter, I resolve the puzzle and defend the Defense Intuition—which holds that an aggressed-upon state can still justifiably engage in collective defense, even when the aggression is benevolent and conditional. I do so by relying on the liberal value of individual autonomy, and the ways in which individual autonomies can combine to form necessary group projects and options. In some cases, these arrangements can result in the value of the group projects being worthy enough to the autonomy of the individuals that lethal defense is warranted, even against acts that would putatively help them. This is due to the very nature of autonomy as something to be respected, not maximized. The resulting theory paints a picture of how a neo-liberal just war theory could be built not upon collective rights, but individual rights. The contemporary example of the 2022 Russian war in Ukraine is given to demonstrate.