Humanitarian Disarmament
An Historical Enquiry

Humanitarian disarmament is not new, but instead represents a re-emergence of a long-standing sensibility in disarmament discourse

Treasa Dunworth (Author)

9781108473927, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 August 2020

290 pages
24 x 16 x 2.4 cm, 0.55 kg

'In a relaxed and informative style, Dr Dunworth surveys the humanitarian impetus for key disarmament efforts and outcomes, spanning from the St Petersburg Declaration of 1868 up until the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017. It is a fascinating and illuminating account - a rewarding read for anyone interested in disarmament.' Dell Higgie, New Zealand Ambassador for Disarmament, New Zealand's Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament

The humanitarian framing of disarmament is not a novel development, but rather represents a re-emergence of a much older and long-standing sensibility of humanitarianism in disarmament. The Book rejects the 'big bang' theory that presents the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention 1997, and its successors – the Convention on Cluster Munitions 2008, and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons 2017 – as a paradigm shift from an older traditional state-centric approach towards a more progressive humanitarian approach. It shows how humanitarian disarmament has a long and complex history, which includes these treaties. This book argues that the attempt to locate the birth of humanitarian disarmament in these treaties is part of the attempt to cleanse humanitarian disarmament of politics, presenting humanitarianism as a morally superior discourse in disarmament. However, humanitarianism carries its own blind spots and has its own hegemonic leanings. It may be silencing other potentially more transformative discourses.

1. Introduction
2. The Origins of Humanitarian Disarmament
3. The Manhattan Project to 'Operation Rolling Thunder': Humanitarian Disarmament Sidelined
4. Humanitarian Disarmament Rising: The Vietnam War and the Campaigns Against Indiscriminate Weapons
5. Humanitarian Disarmament Triumphant? The Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention 1997
6. Humanitarian Disarmament Consolidated? The Convention of Cluster Munitions
7. Humanitarian Disarmament Campaigns Against Nuclear Weapons
8. Rethinking Humanitarian Disarmament
9. Conclusion

Subject Areas: International organisations & institutions [LBBU], Diplomatic law [LBBD], Public international law [LBB], Law [L], International relations [JPS]