1 - Introduction

Summary

The genesis of this book lies in a conference held by the London School of Economics department of international relations in November 1998. The conference, for staff and students, takes place every year at Cumberland Lodge, near Windsor. The theme in 1998 was ‘Ethics and Foreign Policy’, and several contributors to this book presented the first versions of their chapters at the conference.

The theme was chosen to prompt reflection about the apparent proliferation of issues on foreign policy agendas that raise questions about how governments should act in international relations. The promotion of human rights, punishment of crimes against humanity, the prohibition of arms sales to unstable regions or to states which abuse human rights, and the use of force, particularly for the purpose of humanitarian intervention, are all issues which have recently been the subject of discussion among politicians and government officials. This is most evident in the 1997 proclamation by the new British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, that Britain would formulate and implement foreign policy ‘with an ethical dimension’. He meant that the promotion of human rights would be a central concern of British foreign policy and that arms sales would be reviewed to ensure that British arms were not used by foreign governments to repress human rights. The European Union has also tried to incorporate human rights considerations into its relations with third countries, and has agreed on a Code of Conduct on Conventional Arms Sales.