Editing War (section)

==Ethics==
[[File:1871 Vereshchagin Apotheose des Krieges anagoria.JPG|thumb|left|''[[The Apotheosis of War]]'' (1871) by [[Vasily Vereshchagin]]]]

The [[morality]] of war has been the subject of debate for thousands of years.<ref name="DeForrest">{{cite web|last=DeForrest |first=Mark Edward |title=Conclusion |url=http://www.gonzagajil.org/content/view/72/26/ |website=Just War Theory and the Recent U.S. Air Strikes Against Iraq |publisher=Gonzaga Journal of International Law |access-date=1 August 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402204812/http://www.gonzagajil.org/content/view/72/26 |archive-date=2 April 2010 }}</ref>

The two principal aspects of ethics in war, according to the [[just war theory]], are ''[[jus ad bellum]]'' and ''[[jus in bello]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/war/|title=War|last=Lazar|first=Seth|date=2020-03-21|website=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-first=Edward N. |editor-last=Zalta|access-date= 2022-10-04 }}</ref>

''Jus ad bellum'' (right to war), dictates which unfriendly acts and circumstances justify a proper authority in declaring war on another nation. There are six main criteria for the declaration of a just war: first, any just war must be declared by a lawful authority; second, it must be a just and righteous cause, with sufficient gravity to merit large-scale violence; third, the just belligerent must have rightful intentions – namely, that they seek to advance good and curtail evil; fourth, a just belligerent must have a reasonable chance of success; fifth, the war must be a last resort; and sixth, the ends being sought must be proportional to means being used.<ref>{{cite web|last=Aquinas|first=Thomas|title=Part II, Question 40|url=http://ethics.sandiego.edu/Books/Texts/Aquinas/JustWar.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020212080058/http://ethics.sandiego.edu/Books/Texts/Aquinas/JustWar.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 February 2002|website=The Summa Theologica|publisher=Benziger Bros. edition, 1947|access-date=1 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Mosley|first=Alexander|title=The Jus Ad Bellum Convention|url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/justwar/|website=Just War Theory|publisher=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy|access-date=1 August 2011|archive-date=16 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100416023712/http://www.iep.utm.edu/justwar/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:RIAN archive 324 In besieged Leningrad.jpg|thumb|In besieged [[Leningrad]]. "Hitler ordered that Moscow and Leningrad were to be razed to the ground; their inhabitants were to be annihilated or driven out by starvation. These intentions were part of the '[[General Plan East]]'." – ''The Oxford Companion to World War II.''<ref>[[I.C.B. Dear|Ian Dear]], [[M.R.D. Foot|Michael Richard Daniell Foot]] (2001). ''The Oxford Companion to World War II.'' Oxford University Press. p. 88. {{ISBN|0-19-860446-7}}</ref>]]''[[Jus in bello]]'' (right in war), is the set of ethical rules when conducting war. The two main principles are proportionality and discrimination. Proportionality regards how much force is necessary and morally appropriate to the ends being sought and the injustice suffered.<ref name="Moseley">{{cite web|last=Moseley|first=Alexander|title=The Principles of Jus in Bello|url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/justwar/|website=Just War Theory|publisher=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy|access-date=1 August 2011|archive-date=16 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100416023712/http://www.iep.utm.edu/justwar/|url-status=live}}</ref> The principle of discrimination determines who are the legitimate targets in a war, and specifically makes a separation between combatants, who it is permissible to kill, and non-combatants, who it is not.<ref name="Moseley"/> Failure to follow these rules can result in the loss of legitimacy for the just-war-belligerent.<ref name="Codevilla, Seabury 1989 304">{{cite book|last1=Codevilla|last2=Seabury|first1=Angelo|first2=Paul|title=War: Ends and Means|year=1989|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-465-09067-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/war00paul/page/304 304]|url=https://archive.org/details/war00paul/page/304}}</ref>

The just war theory was foundational in the creation of the United Nations and in [[international law]]'s regulations on legitimate war.<ref name="DeForrest"/>

Lewis Coser, an American conflict theorist and sociologist, argued that conflict provides a function and a process whereby a succession of new equilibriums are created. Thus, the struggle of opposing forces, rather than being disruptive, may be a means of balancing and maintaining a social structure or society.<ref>Ankony, Robert C., "Sociological and Criminological Theory: Brief of Theorists, Theories, and Terms", ''CFM Research'', Jul. 2012.</ref>