CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY DAREN BOWYER JUST WAR DOCTRINE

understanding of right from wrong. In the vast majority of cases, the evidence suggests,
we can be confident that this is so; in one or two – as we have seen from cases of
prisoner abuse – it is not.
4.4 New Protagonists: Challenges to the Warrior Code
The final issue to be considered as a challenge offered by trends in contemporary
conflict to traditional understandings of jus in bello is the emergence (or in some case
re-emergence) on the battlefield of a range of new protagonists. Among those who
might be considered are the media, child soldiers, irregular militias with little or no
military training or discipline – including those driven by the fervour of extremist
interpretation of religious imperative and those motivated by the politics of exclusionist
ethnic identity – and PMCs. What this amounts to is a range of additional protagonists
who may be driven by agendas different to those of the professional military forces of
Western nations, and far less steeped in either understanding of just war principles or
the warrior’s honour discussed above (see Section 4.2.3 ). The impact of these new
arrivals is noted by Münkler thus:
From Mujahedin networks to contingents of hastily recruited fighters, from
distinguished-looking security firms linked to the top addresses in the arms trade
through to rowdy adventurers noted for their overindulgence in alcohol and for
going weeks on end without washing to preserve the traces of battle: none of
these consists of state subjects fighting out of a mixture of political duty and
patriotic attachment to cause, but rather of individuals driven mainly by
financial gain, a lust for adventure and a range of ideological motives. There
can be no doubt that this motley group … is removing more and more of the
limits to the violence and brutality of war. 145
Space precludes that all of these groups should be properly examined here, so just two –
PMCs and child soldiers – have been chosen for closer examination. The reasoning
behind this choice is that it allows discussion of one set of new protagonists most likely
to be found working for, with, or under the protection of Western nations; and one set to
be found almost exclusively among our potential opponents.
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