Michael Walzer's Just War Theory and the 1982 Israel War in Lebanon: Theory and Application

Cohen-Almagor, Raphael

Abstract

The article draws on Michael Walzer's just war theory to assess the conduct of the Lebanon War of 1982 (Operation Peace for Galilee) and argues that according to the underpinning principles of Walzer's theory, it was an unjust war. Sharon's war plans, codenamed “Grand Oranim,” were designed to relieve the Lebanese Christian militias of their so-called Palestinian burden by driving the refugees into Jordan where they would presumably bring about a regime change and turn Jordan into a Palestinian state. My analysis focuses on the causes of this war, jus ad bellum, whether it was a war of self-defense, and the means that were employed in its conduct, its jus in bello. Likewise explored and analyzed here are the concepts of proportionality and the treatment of non-combatants.

Citation

Cohen-Almagor, R. (2022). Michael Walzer's Just War Theory and the 1982 Israel War in Lebanon: Theory and Application. Israel Studies, 27(3), 166-189. https://doi.org/10.2979/israelstudies.27.3.08

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 26, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Aug 1, 2022
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Aug 4, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 2, 2024
• Journal: Israel Studies
• Print ISSN: 1084-9513
• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 166-189
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.2979/israelstudies.27.3.08
• Keywords: First Lebanon War; Operation Peace for Galilee; Israel; Just war; Unjust war; Lebanon; Michael Walzer; Menachem Begin; Ariel Sharon; PLO; Phalange; Manipulation; Aggression; Security; Syria
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4044701
• Publisher URL: https://iupress.org/journals/israelstudies/
• Related Public URLs: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/861286