Researcher ORCID Identifier
0009-0005-8640-2274
Graduation Year
2026
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Humanities: Interdisciplinary Studies in Culture
Reader 1
Marina Perez de Mendiola
Reader 2
Pamela Bromley
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2026 Laila B Hannum
Abstract
This thesis applies just war theory to Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games trilogy, arguing that while the districts' rebellion satisfies the principles of jus ad bellum (justice in going to war), it systematically violates jus in bello (justice in the conduct of war) and jus post bellum (justice after war), and ultimately replicates the oppressive structures of the Capitol it sought to overthrow.
Drawing primarily on Michael Walzer's Just and Unjust Wars and on Brian Orend's ideas on post-war justice, this thesis traces the rebellion's moral arc across all three novels. Chapter One shows that the rebellion meets the criteria of jus ad bellum because of the Capitol's harsh treatment of the districts and the yearly Hunger Games, fulfilling just cause, right intention, proper authority, last resort, reasonable chance of success, and proportionality. Chapter Two explains that both the Capitol and the rebellion break jus in bello by failing to distinguish between fighters and civilians, resorting to excessive violence, and failing to keep violence proportional. Frantz Fanon's theory of decolonial violence is compared with Walzer's to explore the conflict between just war and revolutionary needs. Chapter Three examines the rebellion's failures in jus post bellum, ending with President Coin's plan to continue the Hunger Games, which shows how the rebellion mirrors the oppressor it fought.
In all three novels, Katniss Everdeen represents just war theory as a reluctant moral agent. Her decision to assassinate President Coin highlights the main argument of this thesis: just cause alone does not justify unjust actions.
Recommended Citation
Hannum, Laila, "JUST WAR THEORY IN THE HUNGER GAMES: SUZANNE COLLINS’S CRITIQUE OF VIOLENCE, POWER, AND REBELLION" (2026). Scripps Senior Theses. 2796.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/2796
Included in
American Politics Commons, Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Applied Ethics Commons, Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Cognitive Psychology Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, Political Theory Commons, Social Justice Commons, Theory and Philosophy Commons
