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CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY DAREN BOWYER JUST WAR DOCTRINE

CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY DAREN BOWYER JUST WAR DOCTRINE

CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY DAREN BOWYER JUST WAR DOCTRINE

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during his premiership * . The issue re-emerged during the 2005 UK General Election.<br />

The Conservative Party used a poster showing Tony Blair’s face with the slogan ‘If he's<br />

prepared to lie to take us to war he's prepared to lie to win an election.’ The father of a<br />

soldier killed in the war stood as an independent candidate against Mr Blair in his<br />

constituency. Reg Keys, standing as an independent, took 10.3% of the vote, finishing<br />

third just behind the Liberal Democrats. Whilst never a significant threat to Mr Blair’s<br />

re-election as MP for Sedgfield, Mr Keys’ campaign – and a subsequent BBC<br />

documentary that followed it in detail – must be counted a serious personal<br />

embarrassment to the Prime Minister. Moreover, it is unprecedented as an expression<br />

of personal blame for the death of UK servicemen on duty. What made casualties<br />

unacceptable – to many – in 2003, was that the justification for the conflict was not<br />

sufficiently accepted.<br />

Justification of conflict – and justifiable conduct within it – has an important effect at<br />

the national/domestic-political level. In Western democracies any government<br />

committing its military to conflict without clear – and well-articulated – justification<br />

risks its electoral support. Not just the electorate’s support is at risk, but also support<br />

within the ruling party; it is the leadership’s personal standing that will be undermined.<br />

The ill-articulated justification for the 2003 Iraq war did serious damage to Tony Blair’s<br />

authority both as Prime Minister and as Labour Party leader but also the issue saw the<br />

personal integrity of the Prime Minister challenged in a way not seen in modern British<br />

politics. Beyond the standing of a particular government there is also the risk of<br />

damage to the institutions of public life; confidence in them can be undermined. This<br />

includes both the institutions of democratic rule and also the armed forces. In the latter<br />

case, particular harm is done by association with perceived unjust conduct – however<br />

isolated the instances may be. The armed forces may further be damaged by a negative<br />

impact on both recruiting and retention; and this effect may be particularly sharply felt<br />

by the reserve component. Finally, at the national level, acceptance of casualties is<br />

sharply reduced by a lack of sympathy with the causus belli.<br />

* Aping a similar treatment of President Bush by a US artist.<br />

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