Contemporary Just War Thinking and Military Education

Abstract

Both traditional just war theory and military virtue ethics have an important place in most military curricula. The revisionist approach, however, has struggled to gain traction in the curricula of military academies. This chapter analyses how the practical applicability of revisionist just war thinking indeed is limited, but argues that revisionist just war thinking can play an indirect role at military academies. The benefit of revisionism ties into the German and Dutch leadership concepts of Innere Führung and the “thinking soldier.” Yet, the shortcomings of revisionism underline the benefits of traditional just war theory, as well as the importance of virtue ethics in military education, showing that the moral competence of military leaders must reflect not only a cognitive but also a motivational dimension.