A guerra justa em Norberto Bobbio: uma perspectiva multilateralista

Abstract

This doctoral thesis investigated the concept of just war in the thought of Norberto Bobbio, within the field of Ethics and Political Philosophy. The central problem is to identify the ethical and legal criteria capable of legitimizing the use of military force in international conflicts. traditionally, just war doctrine has been structured as a set of normative principles designed to assess the morality of war, distinguishing between the conditions that justify recourse to force (jus ad bellum) and the norms governing its conduct (jus in bello). The general objective is to demonstrate that Bobbio proposes a conceptual reassessment of this tradition through the notion of “inevitable war.” Rather than grounding legitimacy exclusively on classical criteria, Bobbio shifts the axis of justification toward the necessity of confronting concrete threats to international peace. In a contemporary context marked by asymmetric conflicts, multiple actors, and technological transformations, his reflection acquires renewed relevance. The specific objectives are: to analyze the historical formation of the just war tradition; to characterize the concepts of war and peace and the ethical criteria underlying Bobbio’s formulation; to examine the theoretical rupture he promotes; and to demonstrate the contemporary relevance of his proposal in light of humanitarian interventions, multilateralism, and the complexity of current conflicts. The study is justified by the need to reassess a normative tradition rooted in thinkers such as Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas, whose formulations, though foundational, reflect historical contexts distinct from today’s global order. Bobbio’s notion of inevitable war introduces a realist criterion according to which the use of force may become morally admissible when inescapable for the preservation of international order. Methodologically, the research is based on a critical bibliographical review of Bobbio’s major works especially Una guerra giusta? Sul conflitto del Golfo articulated with classical just war theory and contemporary literature on military interventions and global governance. The hypotheses advanced are that: (a) Bobbio breaks with the classical paradigm by replacing it with the criterion of inevitability; (b) his approach provides more adequate standards for evaluating the legitimacy of present-day interventions; and (c) his theory contributes to understanding challenges related to military technology, humanitarian issues, and multilateral relations. The dissertation concludes that, in Bobbio’s perspective, the inevitability of conflict functions as a decisive normative criterion for the use of force. Multilateralism emerges as an indispensable mechanism to prevent the instrumentalization of just war, subordinating military action to international norms. A contemporary reconstruction of the doctrine must therefore be grounded in shared responsibility and fiduciary sovereignty, submitting the arbitrariness of war to international law and orienting global governance toward the preservation of peace.