Abstract
Biological and chemical weapons are the only two weapon classes that are comprehensively banned as weapons of war by international law. The prohibition of biological and chemical weapons is said to be based on an ancient cross-cultural taboo against poison and disease weapons, which has now been codified in international law. However, moral and ethical reasons have also been used to justify research, development, and use of these weapons in the past and are being reused to undermine the modern norm against these weapons and threaten their reemergence. This entry looks at the arguments used to justify the use and development of chemical and biological weapons in light of a changing nature and character of organized violence and technological advances.
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Further Readings
Guillemin, J. (2005). Biological weapons: From the invention of state-sponsored programs to contemporary bioterrorism. New York/Chichester: Columbia University Press.
Rappert, B., & McLeish, C. (2007). A web of prevention: Biological weapons, life sciences and the governance of research. London: Earthscan.
Tucker, J. B. (2012). Innovation, dual use, and security: Managing the risks of emerging biological and chemical technologies. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
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ilchmann, K. (2015). Weapons. In: ten Have, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_441-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_441-1
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