It is a "truth universally recognised" that international law only exists if states uphold it. With the erosion of the rules-based international order we know, armed conflicts and escalating violence on the rise it is timely to discuss how - and if - the just war theory is still applicable today. Professor John Mark Mattox from the National War College, National Defense University, Washington, D.C. and Christian Braun from the Defence Studies Department at King’s College London visited the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs to discuss the question above. Is Ukraine fighting a just war? If so, is there of moral obligation for third parties to support? How far does this moral responsibility stretch, before the supporting country becomes party to the conflict? Is there such a thing as a just peace, that does not sow the seeds to the next war? Does faith help to manoeuvre among moral challenges? And finally: how can ethics play an equally imperative role, whether we talk about wars of necessity or choice? Listen to the latest English-speaking podcast of the HIIA with the participation of Senior Research Fellows Hanga Sántha-Horváth and Zsolt Reile.

Music on the recording: Alexi Action: "Passion" via Pixabay.
Cover: ShutterStock
Cutting, mixing: Dávid Vaszkó


The morality of war and peace - the theory of just war and the illusion of just peace

A Magyar Külügyi Intézet több podcast-sorozatot is kezel a nemzetközi politika és a magyar külpolitika témáiban. A Kilátás a világpolitika és európai politika szerteágazó kérdéseivel foglalkozik, a Maszgúf pedig a Közel-Kelet és Észak-Afrika régió eseményeivel, folyamataival. Angol nyelvű adásaink a "Budapest Outlook" sorozatban jelennek meg.

The morality of war and peace - the theory of just war and the illusion of just peace

Magyar Külügyi Intézet / HIIA