Responsible Warfare. US-Iran Case

Abstract

In the conundrum of legality, legitimacy, and morality regarding war and war operations, the concept of responsible warfare could find its place. The operational definition of such a concept or even behavior has its place somewhere between the legitimate and moral sides, since an ethical component is present in the idea of responsible warfare, not only in the legitimate access to force and use of military power, but also in the legal component associated with it. In this article, we aim to identify specific pieces of concrete behaviour in times of war that would substantiate this concept and could be a basis for responsible behavior. Our major test case is the recent attack by the US on Iranian nuclear facilities and the counterreaction from the regime of Ayatollahs to retaliate proportionally and avoid escalation. The link between promoting a responsible warfare and the effectiveness of reaching the objectives in war could be, however, instrumental to challenge as well as advocating to any extention of such a practice.