Colonel Robert M. Thelen, an ISU alum who is currently assigned to the US Army War College as a Fellow at the National Defense University’s Near East South Asia (NESA) Strategic Studies Center, gave a talk in Dr. Noha Shawki’s Human Rights class on September 11, 2023, during a visit to the ISU campus. His talk focused on human rights and just war.
Colonel Thelen first introduced students to the instruments of national power, which include diplomatic, informational, military, and economic (DIME) instruments and discussed with students which of these dimensions are most relevant to human rights. He then discussed the concept of strategy and defined it as the ends, ways, and means of using instruments of power to achieve objectives in accordance with the national interest.
Following this general introduction, Colonel Thelen spent much of his time with students defining human rights and just war, and discussing some of the ethical principles that must be upheld before, during, and after war. He explored with students the question of when it is morally and legally justified to go to war, and discussed the moral principles that apply in and after war.
Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the course had the opportunity to ask many different questions about some challenging issues pertaining to human rights and just war and to hear Colonel Thelen’s perspectives on these issues. They enjoyed the opportunity to hear from Colonel Thelen, whose extensive experience provided students with unique perspectives on human rights and their connections to the ethical principles that are relevant to armed conflict.
