Civility, Barbarism and the Evolution of International Humanitarian Law

Who do the Laws of War Protect?

Matt Killingsworth, Tim McCormack

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2024
• Topic: Law
• eBook ISBN:
  9781108809573
• Subtopic: International Law
• Index: Law

Efforts to moderate conflict are as old as conflict itself. Throughout the ages, restraint in warfare has been informed by religious and ethical considerations, chivalry and class, and, increasingly since the mid-19th century, a body of customary and treaty law variously referred to as the laws of war, the law of armed conflict (LOAC) or international humanitarian law (IHL). As they evolved from the mid-19th century, these laws were increasingly underpinned by humanitarianism, then in the mid-20th century, were assumed to be universal. But violations of these restraints are also as old as conflict itself. The history of conflict is replete with examples of exclusions from protections designed to moderate warfare. This edited volume explores the degree to which protections in modern warfare might be informed by notions of 'civility' and 'barbarism', or, to put it another way, asks if only those deemed to be civilised are afforded protections prescribed by the laws of war?

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title
• Title page
• Imrpints page
• Contents
• List of Contributors
• Preface and Acknowledgements
• List of Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction: Civility, Barbarism, and the Evolution of International Humanitarian Law
• 2 Sieges and the Laws of War in Europe's Long Eighteenth Century
• 3 All's Fair in Love and War or the Limits of the Limitations: Juridification of Warfare and Its Revocation by Military Necessity
• 4 Cultivating Humanitarianism: Moral Sentiment and International Humanitarian Law in the Civilising Process
• 5 Limits to the Scope of Humanity as a Constraint on the Conduct of War
• 6 The State, Civility, and International Humanitarian Law
• 7 Operationalising Distinction in South Sudan: Humanitarian Decision-Making about Military Asset Use
• 8 Private Military and Security Companies and International Humanitarian Law: The Montreux Document
• 9 Protecting Warfighters from Superfluous Injury and Unnecessary Suffering
• 10 Blurring the Lines: How Are Female Child Soldiers Protected by the Laws of War?
• 11 A Step Back to Take a Step Forward: The Future of Justice in Conflict
• Index