Defensivism is a philosophical standpoint related in spirit to the

non-aggression principle The non-aggression principle (NAP), also called the non-aggression axiom, is a concept in which aggression, defined as initiating or threatening any forceful interference (violating or breaching conduct) against either an individual, their propert ...

. It is a halfway point between other

combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

based philosophies, such as

just war The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war is m ...

and

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

Concept

Defensivism has a standpoint that only defensive actions are moral. One may move to aid someone in immediate danger or protect oneself from immediate harm. To a country, it holds that a military force may never leave its own borders except to move to the aid of someone else, and in such a situation, that it may protect from harm only if it is specifically invited to, with no aggressive action taken. In principle, any form of pre-emptive strike, capture, revenge, or firing the first actual shot or throwing the first actual blow is against the defensivist standpoint. If an action must be halted to stop an aggressor from achieving a goal to harm, defensivism allows for actions that assist in removing an imminent threat such as searching an airline passenger for bombs, stopping an aggressor from detonating a bomb, and stopping an aggressor from harming an innocent person. Pre-emptive action must be taken only to mitigate an imminent threat, not to remove a potential threat. Any form of combative action must cease once the opposition stops fighting, withdraws, surrenders, or ceases the aggressive action. That does not apply if an aggressor remains an imminent threat upon retreat, as in the case of a gunman shooting a police officer and then fleeing into the public still armed. In such cases, the assailant's "retreat" from the first scene still poses an imminent threat to the public, which gives defenders the right to pursue the threat and to use force to defend the public from further danger by apprehending the assailant or using any force that is necessary to mitigate the danger. Generally, defensivism allows the taking of life only if the life that would be taken actively threatens another life. In foreign policy, defensivism is equated with the policy of a free society, which stresses the social primacy of liberty.

Revolutionary defensivism

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

proposed a version of defensivism, which he called "revolutionary defensivism" in which war is pursued only as a matter of necessity, not for the sake of conquest. The latter, in his view, is pursued for capitalist interest and annexation rather than democratic peace. There were Soviet thinkers who described a defensive war strategy that drew from the works of Alexander Svechin. They promoted a type of counteroffensive that does not inflict a decisive defeat on the enemy and is limited to one side's own territory. Some of the thinkers also favored defensive

attrition warfare Attrition warfare is a military strategy consisting of belligerent attempts to win a war by wearing down the enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in personnel and materiel. The word ''attrition'' comes from the Latin root , m ...

with limited war aims, as opposed to an objective of complete destruction.

References

{{Reflist Pacifism

Concept

Revolutionary defensivism

See also

References