Can preventive war be justified?

This position holds that preventive war can be morally justified. Proponents argue that a state need not wait to absorb an attack it can foresee, that modern weapons leave no time to respond after the fact, and that acting early can cost fewer lives overall.

This position holds that preventive war can never be justified. Opponents argue that it rests on predictions that cannot be verified, that it amounts to aggression against a state that has not attacked, and that it destroys the rule limiting war to self-defence.

This position holds that preventive war is justified only under narrowly defined conditions. Proponents argue that the threat must be grave, demonstrable and imminent, every alternative exhausted, and the action proportionate and externally authorised.