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License to kill: is legitimate authority a requirement for just war?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2013

Magnus Reitberger
Magnus Reitberger*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
*
E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

In traditional just war theory, legitimate authority is regarded as a necessary requirement for war to be just. This article challenges this requirement by arguing that a right to wage war can be derived from the right to self-defense and the justifiability of exercising political power to protect basic human rights. Arguments for the legitimate authority-requirement are then surveyed and rejected as insufficient to defend the principle's privileged status. It is argued that just war theory does not need the legitimate authority-requirement and may benefit from its removal.

Keywords

just war theorylegitimacyauthorityself-defensehuman rights
Type
Original Papers
Information
International Theory , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , March 2013 , pp. 64 - 93
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

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