Subject(s)
Chemical Warfare/ethics , Ethics, Medical , Physicians/ethics , Humans , Racism/ethics , South AfricaSubject(s)
Chemical Warfare/ethics , Ethics, Medical , Physicians/ethics , Humans , Racism/ethics , South AfricaSubject(s)
Chemical Warfare/ethics , Ethics, Medical , Physicians/ethics , Humans , Racism/ethics , South AfricaABSTRACT
The strategic use of disease and poison in warfare has been subject to a longstanding and cross-cultural taboo that condemns the hostile exploitation of poisons and disease as the act of a pariah. In short, biological and chemical weapons are simply not fair game. The normative opprobrium is, however, not fixed, but context dependent and, as a social phenomenon, remains subject to erosion by social (or more specifically, antisocial) actors. The cross cultural understanding that fighting with poisons and disease is reprehensible, that they are taboo, is codified through a web of interconnected measures, principal amongst these are the 1925 Geneva Protocol; the Biological Weapons Convention; and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Whilst these treaties have weathered the storm of international events reasonably well, their continued health is premised on their being 'tended to' in the face of contextual changes, particularly facing changes in science and technology, as well as the changed nature and character of conflict. This article looks at the potential for normative erosion of the norm against chemical and biological weapons in the face of these contextual changes and the creeping legitimization of chemical and biological weapons.
Subject(s)
Biological Warfare Agents , Biological Warfare/ethics , Chemical Warfare Agents , Chemical Warfare/ethics , International Cooperation , Morals , Terrorism , HumansSubject(s)
Chemical Warfare , Gas Poisoning , International Cooperation , World War I , Chemical Warfare/classification , Chemical Warfare/economics , Chemical Warfare/ethics , Chemical Warfare/history , Chemical Warfare/legislation & jurisprudence , Chemical Warfare/prevention & control , Chemical Warfare/statistics & numerical data , Chemical Warfare/trends , Chlorine/history , Chlorine/poisoning , Gas Poisoning/history , Gas Poisoning/mortality , Gas Poisoning/pathology , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , International Cooperation/history , International Cooperation/legislation & jurisprudence , Middle East , Phosgene/history , Phosgene/poisoning , Sarin/history , Sarin/poisoning , USSR , United States , World War IISubject(s)
Biological Warfare/history , Chemical Warfare/history , Informed Consent/history , Nontherapeutic Human Experimentation/history , Biological Warfare/ethics , Chemical Warfare/ethics , Chemical Warfare/legislation & jurisprudence , Codes of Ethics/history , History, 20th Century , Humans , Informed Consent/ethics , Nontherapeutic Human Experimentation/ethics , Nontherapeutic Human Experimentation/legislation & jurisprudence , Societies, Medical/history , United KingdomSubject(s)
Biological Warfare/prevention & control , Chemical Warfare/prevention & control , International Cooperation , Security Measures/standards , Biological Warfare/ethics , Biological Warfare/legislation & jurisprudence , Chemical Warfare/ethics , Chemical Warfare/legislation & jurisprudence , Security Measures/legislation & jurisprudence , South AfricaSubject(s)
Anesthetics, Inhalation/adverse effects , Chemical Warfare/legislation & jurisprudence , Fentanyl/adverse effects , Halothane/adverse effects , Terrorism/prevention & control , Aerosols , Anesthetics, Inhalation/administration & dosage , Chemical Warfare/ethics , Fentanyl/administration & dosage , Halothane/administration & dosage , Humans , Moscow , Riot Control Agents, Chemical/administration & dosage , Riot Control Agents, Chemical/adverse effectsABSTRACT
This paper provides a short account of the South African Defence Force's chemical and biological warfare programme during apartheid, specifically during the period 1980 to 1994. It examines the circumstances of recruitment of the scientists and physicians and their retention in the programme; details the 'scientific efforts' of the programme and its aberrations; and explores ethical issues in relation to the involvement of scientists in the programme.