Document Type : Research Paper
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Abstract
The concept of Just War and the relation between Just War and Christian theology is the focal point of discussions about political philosophy in the Christian world for over sixteen centuries. The theory of “Just War” is one of the most important theories of international relations and political philosophy about peace which was put forward and developed by Saint Augustine (354), the divine thinker and sage. Augustine considers a war as just, if its initiator has divine eligibility and aims at implementation of justice and setting up monotheistic society through war. In his opinion, the theory of Just War has three basic properties: 1. ethics (excellence) and justice, 2. the laws (natural and time-related), 3. commonwealth.
These three points are the most important results of the theory of Just War. On one hand, he puts sin as the basic axis of just war and expresses that the latter is developed to get rid of materialistic life and to form spiritual life. Based on religious topics, Augustine attempted to present a different definition of justice, to show an approach towards justice different from the approaches taken by his predecessors, that had a celestial shape and to offer a clear interpretation of his own spiritual society and utopia based on religious and natural reasons. The theory of Just War, concerning its logical structure, is consistent with the theory of Just War among classical philosophers on the one hand, and with the theory of Holy War among the philosophers of Middle Ages on the other hand
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