Collective Self-Determination, Institutions of Justice, and Wars of National Defence

Abstract

Wars of national self-defence are often thought to be legitimate and are often argued for through an analogy with individual violent self-defensive action. Although this analogy is superficially plausible, it has been subject to critical scrutiny by David Rodin. This chapter pursues a line of argument about national defence initially suggested by Rodin, who argues that it is difficult to justify wars unless we give an irreducible role to collective actors. This chapter is motivated by noting that warfare involves an assault on a high value of international society, i.e. individual human rights. How can this be justified? Why is it permissible to kill the innocent in order to defend a political interest? In order to approach an answer to this question, it is necessary to provide an account of what goods are embedded in political communities and therefore worth defending.