War Insurance: A New Concept in the Ethics of Warfare

Indianapolis, IN

My paper is titled War Insurance: A new concept in the ethics of warfare, and I will be arguing for a concept I termed 'war insurance.' Central to my argument is that regardless of the purpose for going war or whether a war is just or unjust, the feature that is essentially guaranteed when nations do decide to go to war is that innocent noncombatants will suffer from the consequences of combat and aggression Civilians are killed, children are orphaned, families are displaced, and economies are shattered long after war concludes. Despite their innocent and lack of participation in war, civilian casualties and civilian suffering is an inevitable expectation in warfare. Given this, I will argue that warring states have a moral responsibility to provide compensation to the innocent civilians that suffer unjustly due to the act and consequences of warfare. Essentially I will argue for the concept of 'war insurance' where warring state(s) can only be held morally accountable for the suffering and pain inflicted upon civilians if they failed to self-insure against the inevitable loss and harm of innocent noncombatants