steve on Nostr: “The Chemical Weapons Taboo” by Richard M. Price ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Taboos are an ...
“The Chemical Weapons Taboo” by Richard M. Price
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Taboos are an interesting social phenomenon. They evoke strong feelings of right and wrong, but we often cannot explain exactly what makes them so. Price, a constructivist IR professor at the University of British Columbia, explores the taboo of chemical weapons in the 20th century. Departing from common realist and liberal explanations, Price shows the normative power of the international community in shaping taboos and expected state behavior. He traces the extensive use of chemical warfare during WWI, its surprisingly limited use during WWII in the Italo-Ethiopian War, and the Iran-Iraq War. Interestingly, international bans on chemical weapons and poisons alike stem from top-down (not bottom-up) societal processes where elites sought to dictate the terms of warfare. Price demonstrates both the power and subjectivity of morality in the minds of societies. The norms that shape taboos and the legitimation of actors who violate them highlight the dynamic natures of such faux pas. Despite the continued taboo, chemical weapons usage still occurs albeit in a very limited context. The power of taboo applies to other weapons of war as well. The nuclear taboo is well-known and respected but is there a taboo on the use of biological weapons today? It is likely that these international norms are yet to be formed. Price’s narrative is admittedly drawn-out but he nonetheless sparks an interesting discussion on the role that ideas have in shaping the strategies states employ. ☣️😷
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Taboos are an interesting social phenomenon. They evoke strong feelings of right and wrong, but we often cannot explain exactly what makes them so. Price, a constructivist IR professor at the University of British Columbia, explores the taboo of chemical weapons in the 20th century. Departing from common realist and liberal explanations, Price shows the normative power of the international community in shaping taboos and expected state behavior. He traces the extensive use of chemical warfare during WWI, its surprisingly limited use during WWII in the Italo-Ethiopian War, and the Iran-Iraq War. Interestingly, international bans on chemical weapons and poisons alike stem from top-down (not bottom-up) societal processes where elites sought to dictate the terms of warfare. Price demonstrates both the power and subjectivity of morality in the minds of societies. The norms that shape taboos and the legitimation of actors who violate them highlight the dynamic natures of such faux pas. Despite the continued taboo, chemical weapons usage still occurs albeit in a very limited context. The power of taboo applies to other weapons of war as well. The nuclear taboo is well-known and respected but is there a taboo on the use of biological weapons today? It is likely that these international norms are yet to be formed. Price’s narrative is admittedly drawn-out but he nonetheless sparks an interesting discussion on the role that ideas have in shaping the strategies states employ. ☣️😷