Page 172 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol V

war and peace—overview 1949

external) and required of good rulers and men in the face version. The complication was that the mainstream
of threats to both order and freedom or independence. Islamic tradition looked back to the desert past for mod-
Greek and Roman writers and Chinese theorists of war els, and so had much more difficulty than Christianity in
such as Sunzi share this outlook, which is perhaps sim- sanctioning the existence of the state. Since the state was
ply a concomitant of a secular, state-centered view of the vital to the prosecution of war, just or not, Muslim poli-
world. For these thinkers, peace was preferable, but war ties sometimes had more practical difficulty than Christ-
had benefits, including the possibility of ensuring a more ian ones in sanctioning warfare, despite accepting it in
secure peace. theory.
The other major salvation religion, Mahayana Bud-
The Salvation Religions dhism, has much less to say about war in explicit terms.
Another strain of ancient thought, exemplified by the Unlike Christianity, which came to prominence with
Hebrew and Persian traditions, sanctioned war even less Constantine’s military victory under the sign of the cross,
problematically as part of a universal god’s plan for the Buddhism spread in the wake of the Mauryan Emperor
world and His Chosen People. Both of these traditions Asoka’s conversion, prompted by the horrors of his con-
influenced the salvation religions of Christianity and quest of Kalinga, and so did contain a strong pacifist ten-
Islam, whose attitudes towards war and peace are com- dency. Yet Buddhist states, such as Tibet, and Buddhist
plicated.Although often portrayed as a pacifist religion in warrior classes, such as the bushi of Japan, both managed
its early days, Christianity in effect accepted war as soon to reconcile religion and warfare, and it is perhaps more
as it accepted the existence of the state in the form of the accurate to say that Buddhism encourages individual qui-
Roman Empire, and pacifism was from the start a minor- etism, politically, rather than state pacifism. In sum, the
ity voice in the new religion. Early Christian thinkers effect of the salvation religions on warfare was mostly to
emphasized the deploring of war implicit in classical put theoretical limits on the conduct of war, but
views, but ultimately saw its necessity for within those limits to sanction and jus-
order. When Christianity emerged tify warfare. Peace remained an ideal
after Constantine as the state reli- more preached than practiced.
gion, it therefore made a relatively
easy transition to sanctioning warfare Cultures of War
led by Christian rulers. St. Augustine In practice, limits on warfare were
had worked out the main tenets of a more likely to emerge from particu-
Christian theory of just war by lar cultural practices than from over-
around 400 CE.This put limits on the arching religious systems. Most
proper conduct of war, but ques- cultures since warfare began have
tioned neither its necessity nor its imposed limits on what was and
justness within those limits. By the was not acceptable, both in declar-
twelfth century, Just War theory had ing war and in prosecuting it. Rules
accommodated the Crusades, and During the Boer War in might govern the treatment of non-
Holy War became a part of the west- South Africa (c. 1900) five combatants and the ransoming of
ern Christian tradition as it already British soldiers pose with prisoners versus killing them; con-
had in Byzantium. rifles protecting a woman vention (as well as logistics based on
Islam was born in war, and gave holding the British flag weather and the rhythms of agricul-
birth to a Muslim theory of Just War symbolizing the British ture) might limit campaigning sea-
that closely resembled the Christian Empire. sons to certain times of year. Certain