International Humanitarian Law: Necessity, Distinction and the ‘Standard of Civilisation’

The modern laws of war are an integral foundation of 19th century efforts to establish and maintain order within the then emerging international society of states. But membership was conditional; only ‘civilised’ states were permitted entry to international society. Engaging with the concept of ‘the standard of civilisation’, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate a continuity of double standards as they relate to protections afforded by the modern laws of war. It will argue that these double standards have been, and continue to be, underpinned by attempts to de-humanise belligerents via the language of the ‘standard of civilisation’. In making this argument, the paper will draw attention to the historical centrality of the state and the role it has played in establishing conditionality with regards to protections afforded by the modern laws of war through the language of raison d’état and the standard of civilisation.