Character Conflation: The Just War Tradition and Just Peacemaking Theory as Part of an Intentional Character Development Approach

Abstract

Character development efforts comprise an important part of the training regime in all U.S. military forces, but a
review of those plans shows areas of potential improvement in defining and refining the character construct. This
paper encourages an organizationally unique and narrowly specific character definition as a way to further virtue
cultivation, combined with an expanded and more realistic ethical construct for the entire spectrum of missions
every U.S. military member now faces. The author proposes a new term called “character conflation” to express
this process, defining it as: “The unique process by which an organization intentionally identifies and influences
character outcomes toward a specific, desired end state.” Because of the extensive use of modern U.S. military forces
in non-traditional peacemaking roles, instruction in the Just War Tradition should expand to include theoretical
development and training in Just Peacemaking Theory. Military members required to operate on any part of the
power spectrum need an ethical construct which supports the entire spectrum, not just the ethics of war.