The main objective of this research unit is to develop an expertise regarding the ethical aspects of the military practice and profession. The members of the research unit have a special interest in the Just War Theory. This is a normative ethical theory with a history of more than two millennia that offers moral guidance regarding the use of military force. Basically, moral reflection revolves around three questions:

• When is it morally permissible to resort to military force? (jus ad bellum),
• How should military actions be conducted? (jus in bello), and
• How should we deal with the end and the aftermath of war? (jus post bellum).

A specific challenge in this regard is to explore to what extent this age-old theory can still provide us with an adequate moral framework for judging new technological, political, and military evolutions (e.g. drone warfare, autonomous weapons systems, Private Military Companies, targeted killing).