Jus Post Bellum

The just war tradition usually revolves around two crucial points: the justness of a war, and the justness of the way that war is fought. These two points—jus ad bellum and jus in bello, respectively—define the debate over whether a war is moral. Much less has been said about what happens after a war. But the aftermath of war is crucial to the justice of the war itself. Political leaders often invoke postwar developments like bringing democracy or stability as part of justifying or condemning a war; but political theorists have not yet fully come to terms with which of these arguments are morally compelling. It is important to better theorize postwar justice—jus post bellum—for the sake of a more complete theory of just war. Jus Post Bellum GARY J. BASS