Conscientious Objectors as Patriots: Patriotic Justifications of Conscientious Objection to Military Service

Abstract

This chapter shows that conscientious objection (henceforth CO) to military service is essentially not a dilemma of freedom of conscience versus the duty to obey the law but, above all, a dilemma between two conflicting patriotic moral obligations: the patriotic obligation to serve in the military versus the patriotic obligation to resist service in the military under certain political circumstances. Furthermore, the chapter demonstrates that CO is justifiable, based on what is known as moderate patriotism, that is, out of a patriotism which is committed simultaneously to universal and particular values.

The chapter consists of three parts. The first part introduces the idea of patriotic CO (PCO) in three stages. First, a presentation of the basic idea of CO to military service is given. Then, the concept of moderate patriotism is presented, followed by a discussion of the notion of PCO and how moderate patriotism can justify refusal. The second part presents the foundation of a Theory of PCO to Military Service and shows how it differs from other liberal theories of disobedience. The chapter ends with a critical discussion of theoretical weaknesses in liberal thought of CO. The conclusion is that if CO on patriotic grounds is morally justifiable, it follows that this is an act committed within the framework of legitimate political discourse. Therefore, PCO is politically legitimate even if it is not always legal. Among other things, the Theory of PCO offers a theoretical distinction between political legitimacy and legality.