Mitigating the Tyranny, a Moral Responsibility (Paperback)

Mitigating the tyranny, a moral responsibility" takes basis in Michael Walzer's description of "The Tyranny of War," where the political decision makers are the tyrants who send soldiers into the tyranny. When given the power to make such decisions, they also have a moral responsibility to mitigate the tyranny. The first part of the essay explains why the decision makers have this responsibility, by referring to Michael Walzer's Just War Theory and the threefold responsibility decision makers have in justifying their decisions towards the international community - jus ad bellum, in bello and post bellum. Decision makers should also have the same responsibility towards their soldiers who are the victims of their decisions. This Just War Theory is further used to underscore the complexity of the tyranny and to explain what the mitigation of this encompasses. Although the military itself has a responsibility to mitigate the tyranny, the decision makers' responsibility lies in their awareness of, interest in and focus on the military and the reality of the tyranny. Their role in the mitigation of the tyranny is also to ensure the nation's support and backing of their soldiers, their awareness and acknowledgement of the soldiers effort and struggles in the threefold tyranny. The second part of the essay discusses how the contemporary Norwegian decision makers have allowed this sense of responsibility to decline, thus not contributing to the mitigation of the tyranny. Even though Norway is a nation in "deep peace" after the end of the Cold War, the tyranny for the soldiers are still present through numerous force commitments in UN and NATO operations.