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Cultural Norms, War and the Environment
The most immediate threats to humankind are military devastation and environmental exhaustion, both on a global scale. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme, presents with this book the fifth major study in a series that examines the links between these two threats.
As early as 1899 the Hague Conventions affirmed the principle that 'the right of belligerents to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not unlimited'. In 1977 additions to the Geneva Conventions extended this principle in these words: 'it is prohibited to employ methods or means of warfare which are intended, or may be expected, to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment'. In this study, specialists from several disciplines examine the connections between military activities and the environment; they discuss the role of our environmental norms, past and present, in inhibiting war, and suggest how such norms could be strengthened. The result is an important contribution to our understanding of how war can be constrained and our environment preserved in a culturally, politically and economically diverse world.
Table of contents
1. Constraints on military disruption of the biosphere: An overview
Arthur H. Westing
2. The historical evolution of cultural norms relating to war and the environment
Geoffrey Best
3. Cultural norms in the USSR relating to war and the environment
Grigori S. Khozin
4. Gender as an influence on cultural norms relating to war and the environment
Virginia Held
5. The special challenge of our time: Cultural norms relating to nuclearism
Richard A. Falk
6. The law as a force in shaping cultural norms relating to war and the environment
Christopher D. Storm
7. Formal education as a force in shaping cultural norms relating to war and the environment
Birgit Brock-Utne
8. The news media as a force in shaping cultural norms relating to war and the environment
David M. Rubin
9. The arts as a force in shaping cultural norms relating to war and the environment
Rosalind J. Marsh
10. Towards non-violent conflict resolution and environmental protection: a synthesis
Arthur H. Westing
Appendix 1. Cultural norms in relation to war and the environment: Select bibliography
Appendix 2. Multilateral treaties constraining military disruption of the environment: Excerpts
Appendix 3. International declarations constraining military disruption of the environment: Excerpts
Appendix 4. Codes constraining military disruption of the environment: Excerpts
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