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6 - The State, Civility, and International Humanitarian Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2024

By
Matt Killingsworth
Edited by
Matt Killingsworth  and
Tim McCormack
Matt Killingsworth
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania
Tim McCormack
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania
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Summary

Chapter 6 has three interrelated aims. First, to identify the relationship between the modern nation-state, international humanitarian law (IHL), and notions of civility; second, through a historical exploration of the relationship between military necessity, proportionality, and discrimination in IHL, to make the argument that the claimed shift from sovereignty to humanitarianism is not as complete as often argued, and that rather, raison d’état continues to be a motivating factor informing constraint during combat; and third, through an exploration of ‘the standard of civilisation’, to identify how this relationship informs discord between the universal underpinnings of contemporary IHL, and ongoing violations of the law. The chapter concludes by proposing that the oft-maligned concept of a ‘standard of civilisation’ remains valuable in exploring continuities of double standards as they relate to protections afforded by the modern laws of war.

Keywords

International humanitaran lawstandard of civilisationmilitary necessitybarbariancivilisationthe state
Type
Chapter
Information
Civility, Barbarism and the Evolution of International Humanitarian Law
Who do the Laws of War Protect?
 , pp. 111 - 134
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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