Harvard University Philosophy The Just War Theory Essay & Reflection

See attachments for criteria for 2nd essay.

1st essay: The purpose of your essay is to examine some of the broader meaning of the ethics and practices around official lying.  You have spent time studying the special responsibilities and pressures on national leaders.  Now you will address yourself to questions about how the national interest intersects with this particular ethical breach.

Write an essay of approximately 500 words in length (approximately 2 pages of doubled-spaced and 12 point font of text) using APA format.  In your essay, draw on as many significant examples as are appropriate while fully answering the following inter-related questions:

• In your view, when leaders lie about entry into a war, is it a violation of Just War Theory? Can a war begun on lies be legitimate, successful and in the national interest nonetheless, or are there negative consequences that accrue over time as a result of this ethical breach (be sure to consider domestic consequences too)?  
• Is this different in democracies and the military alliances or temporary coalitions among them; are they in effect held to a higher Washingtonian standard (e.g., living up to treaties, constitutions etc.)?
• In your view, how might the U.S. better hold to such a higher standard?

Organize your responses to the questions posed above, and then craft a formatted essay that includes each of the following:

• A title page;
• Well-developed introductory paragraph explaining the purpose of the essay and briefly referencing some of the main points/contentions offered in the work;
• The body of the assignment should consist of your effort to best answer the primary questions from the assignment prompt and should consist of approximately 500 words of text (approximately 2 pages of double-spaced and 12 point font of text).  Though the method by which this is done is largely up to you, it is essential that the responses to the questions in the prompt be based upon scholarly readings and should remain at all times defensible (in an academic sense).  You have a great deal of information to draw from in creating your essay, including the assigned and optional readings as well as many references in the module notes.  Presenting any unsubstantiated, illogical, or indefensible position will have an adverse effect on the final grade.
• A concise concluding paragraph that briefly restates both the purpose of the essay as well as some of the primary argument offered by you, the paper’s author.  Be sure the concluding paragraph does not introduce new information;