Political Violence and Terrorism

Conditions for a Just War Thomas Aquinas The cause must be just We must fight it justly The war can only be declared by a legitimate authority The Quran The cause must be just It must be a last resort Ends when the enemy makes peace Must be declared by the proper authority Prisoners of war must be treated mercifully Non-combatants cannot be harmed

A War is unjust then if You don’t have a just cause like self-defense or severe human rights violations It is not a last resort It is not declared by the proper authority You don’t treat prisoners of war humanely You don’t do everything possible to spare all violence toward non-combatants You don’t accept peace when the enemy surrenders

Can Terrorism be Just? What is Terrorism? The use of violence against innocent people for political gain Is that the right definition? The point of terrorism it to … terrorize

Non-violence and Civil Disobedience Non-Violence (ahimsa) Violence irrevocably harms both the recipient and the agent of violence. Civil Disobedience Deliberately breaking the law, non-violently, with the intention of suffering the penalty. The point is to show how unjust the law is

Henry David Thoreau