The Chemical Weapons Taboo

by Richard M. Price

Richard M. Price asks why, among all the ominous technologies of weaponry throughout the history of warfare, chemical weapons carry a special moral stigma. Something more seems to be at work than the predictable resistance people have expressed to any new weaponry, from the crossbow to nuclear bombs. Perceptions of chemical warfare as particularly abhorrent have been successfully institutionalized in international proscriptions and, Price suggests, understanding the sources of this success might shed light on other efforts at arms control. To explore the origins and meaning of the chemical weapons taboo, Price presents a series of case studies from World War I through the Gulf War of 1990–1991. He traces the moral arguments against gas warfare from the Hague Conferences at the turn of the century through negotiations for the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993. From the Italian invasion of Ethiopia to the war between Iran and Iraq, chemical weapons have been condemned as the "poor man's bomb." Drawing upon insights from Michel Foucault to explain the role of moral norms in an international arena rarely sensitive to such pressures, he focuses on the construction of and mutations in the refusal to condone chemical weapons.

Genres: International Relations

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Richard Price (Ph.D., Cornell) specializes in international relations. His research interests focus on the role of norms in world politics, particularly norms limiting warfare; constructivist international relations theory; normative international relations theory; and the politics of international law. His publications include the co-authored, Special Responsibilities: Global Problems and American Power (Cambridge University Press, 2012), Moral Limit and Possibility in World Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2008), The United Nations and Global Security (with Mark Zacher, co-editor, 2004), The Chemical Weapons Taboo (Cornell University Press, 1997), and numerous articles in International Organization, World Politics, International Security, European Journal of International Relations, and the Review of International Studies among others. His teaching interests include courses on world politics, the politics of international law, ethics in world politics, and international relations theory.

Reviews

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Price discusses the reasons that chemical weapons are considered illegitimate in contemporary society. Whereas dominant discussions of the appropriateness of various weapons (chemical, biological, land-mines, etc.) often focus on realist explanations (only non-useful weapons are banned), Price demonstrates the opposite. Even though chemical weapons are useful, and even though they are no more or less destructive than aerial bombings, they are shunned by societies all over the world. Price demonstrates this by connecting chemical weapons to the long tradition of societies shunning poisoning as a means of killing, due to its being perception of being sneak, dishonest, and dishonourable. As such, Price shows that cultural and normative factors influence what international society considered to be appropriate conduct in conflict. As he notes, even Hitler had an aversion to chemical weapons.