A critical analysis on just war thought from Plato to Hugo Grotius

The aim of this study is to reveal the philosophical roots of the just war thought which has been put forth as a foundation of justification in the Western tradition of political philosophy and to make a critical analysis of them. Regarding the contemporary political reality, just war thought has been the foundation of justification for the wars of United States of America especially in the Middle East geography. In this respect, the study secondly aims to display the philosophical genealogy of this logic of war which is grounded in the wars that have been started by U.S.A. and thereby it aims to contribute to understand the contemporary political reality in a better way. The eight philosophers that we gave place in the path of research in our study between Plato and Hugo Grotius and within the scope of four historical periods constitute the limits of the study. In the study it is argued that just war thought has a role making a political domination possible, that it justifies certain political systems' obtaining an imperial order, that it brings a justification for the wars of intervention in a very open-ended way. In the study it is concluded at first that there is a line of continuity regarding the concepts and the arguments that are applied in the just war thought in the Western tradition of political philosophy. And it is understood that nature, natural law and international law are three philosophical foundations that justify the war in this line of continuity, but that they have weak justifications in terms of philosophy. Also it is concluded that the contemporary political reality concerning war has philosophical roots. Finally it is understood that on the one hand a deliberative democracy model of Habermas is needed in the political systems that have a voice on international level for the negotiations on the justification of war but on the other hand it is understood that these political systems need deterrent mechanisms that prevents the nations from starting wars. Key Words: Just War Thought, Nature, Natural Law, International Law.