Analyzing the Just War Frame

Abstract

At the simplest and most fundamental level, the importance I attribute to the just war frame is due to the unconscious appeal of the just war tradition within the Western liberal imagination. There is no comparable logic and set of ideas available to those in positions of authority in Western liberal societies who wish to forge a shared understanding of the conditions making a resort to war legitimate, the actors or conditions making that resort to war necessary, why it is the best course of action, and ultimately why all members of the society in question should support the decision (Kennedy, 2006). Indeed, the extent to which American decision-makers, opinion-leaders, and the public at-large automatically and reflexively draw upon the language and logic of the just war as a heuristic device when war enters the realm of the possible is striking, and speaks to this point (Hudson, 2009).