The Vulnerable in International Society

199 Pages·2013·0.988 MB·English

by  Ian Clark

THE VULNERABLE IN INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY
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The Vulnerable in
International Society
IAN CLARK
1
3
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Preface
Thisbookfollowsinalonglineofmyotherstudieson‘internationalsociety’
(Clark2005,2007,2011).Inwritingthem,Ihadbecomeincreasinglyawareof
one big issue lurking in the background. While it is mostly explicit in the
literature that international society makes a difference from the ‘state of
nature’,itisleftlargelyimplicitwhetherandhowthatdifferenceisapositive
one. Certainly, international society did not emerge with any unequivocal
approbation from those earlier works. But is it actually possible that the
difference it makes could be negative instead? It was in order to confront
this issue directly that I embarked on this examination of what might strike
somereadersasthedarksideofinternationalsociety.Attheveryleast,suchan
undertakingwillprovideamoreroundedandbalancedaccount,andserveas
anantidotetoanycrudeperceptionthatinternationalsocietyiswhollybenign,
andshouldbeconsideredlargelysoftandcuddly.Doingsofromtheperspec-
tive of ‘the vulnerable’ seemed to offer a particularly rich terrain for further
exploration,andinthisexpectationithasnotdisappointed.
Althoughthisisarelativelyshortbook,ithasincurredsomeverylargedebts.
The first is institutional. I express my gratitude to the Department of Inter-
nationalPoliticsandAberystwythUniversityforreleasingmeonayear-long
sabbaticalthrough2012.Attheotherend,IamsimilarlyindebtedtotheSchool
ofSocialandPoliticalSciencesattheUniversityofMelbourneforhostingmeas
aVisitingFellowduringthatperiod.IoweaparticulardebttoRobynEckersley,
who was instrumental in setting up this arrangement. I am particularly in-
debtedtotheUniversityofMelbourneLibraryforitsexcellentresources.
Theargumentsinthebookhavebenefitedconsiderablyfromtheirexposure
to critical scrutiny in a number of seminars, and I record my appreciation
to those who organized them: Colin Wight and Paul Fawcett of the Depart-
ment of Government and International Relations, Sydney University; Tim
DunneandHeloiseWeberoftheSchoolofPoliticsandInternationalStudies,
UniversityofQueensland;BinaFernandezoftheSchoolofSocialandPolitical
Sciences, University of Melbourne; Roderic Pitty and Mark Beeson of the
Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of
Western Australia. I am most grateful also to a number of individuals who
have commented on earlier drafts of parts of the book, and/or who have
pointed me towards important sources: Robyn Eckersley; Toni Erskine;
MervynFrost;HannahHughes;IanHurd;ClaireLoughnan;AdamKamrad-
Scott; Tony Lang; Andrew Linklater; Cian O’Driscoll; Gerry Simpson; and
vi Preface
OUP’s anonymous readers. As always, Dominic Byatt at OUP has given the
projecttheimmensebenefitofhisenthusiasmandsupport.
Less formally, I wish to record my appreciation of two wonderful Fitzroy
cafes(SouthpawonGertrudeStreetandScentofaFloweronVictoriaParade);
their excellent coffee, and above all their highly sociable staff, did much to
sustain my writing on a daily basis. On a more personal note, the year was
greatly enriched by the proximity of, and close contact with, our lovely
Australian family. As ever, I am deeply indebted to Janice for making our
stayinMelbournesuchaspecialone,aswellasforherowndirectassistance
andcontributioninbringingtheprojecttocompletion.
I.C.
Melbourne
Contents
ListofAbbreviations viii
Introduction 1
1. WhatHavetheVulnerableEverDoneforInternationalSociety? 13
2. PoliticalViolenceandtheVulnerable 37
3. ClimateChangeandtheVulnerable 62
4. HumanMovementandtheVulnerable 84
5. GlobalHealthandtheVulnerable 106
6. TheMoralProblemoftheVulnerable 128
Conclusion:WhatCanInternationalSocietyDofortheVulnerable? 152
References 165
Index 187
List of Abbreviations
ABM anti-ballisticmissile
AOSIS AllianceofSmallIslandStates
BASIC Brazil,SouthAfrica,India,andChina
BAU BusinessasUsual
CBDR commonbutdifferentiatedresponsibilities
COP ConferenceoftheParties
ES EnglishSchool
FCTC FrameworkConventiononTobaccoControl
G8 GroupofEightlargesteconomies
GHG greenhousegas
GHG globalhealthgovernance
IDP internallydisplacedperson
IHL internationalhumanitarianlaw
IHR InternationalHealthRegulations
IPCC IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange
IR internationalrelations
LDCs leastdevelopedcountries
MSF MédecinsSansFrontières
POW prisonerofwar
SALT StrategicArmsLimitationTreaty
TRIPs AgreementonTrade-RelatedAspectsofIntellectualPropertyRights
UNDP UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramme
UNEP UnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramme
UNFCCC UnitedNationsFrameworkConventiononClimateChange
UNHCR UnitedNationsHighCommissionerforRefugees
UNRRA UnitedNationsReliefandRehabilitationAdministration
WHO WorldHealthOrganization
WMO WorldMeteorologicalOrganization
WTO WorldTradeOrganization
Introduction
During June 2012, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported on a complex
emergency in Mali under the heading ‘Refugees in a Vulnerable Situation’
(MSF2012).Peoplewerebeingdriventofleetheviolenceinthenorthofthe
country that had broken out between government and rebel forces. Some
soughtrefugewithinMali,whileothershadcrossedintoneighbouringcoun-
tries,suchasNigerandBurkinaFaso.Manynowfacedacutehealthproblems,
as well as lack of food in a region described as already experiencing food
insecurity as a result of changing climate and rainfall patterns. So why were
these people vulnerable? At first glance, their ‘vulnerable situation’ seems
straightforwardly a compound of four sets of material conditions: violence,
climate, movement, and health. But what exactly was it that had made them
‘vulnerable’inthisway?Isitsufficientsimplytorefertothatsetofdescriptive
conditions as a full and adequate explanation of the ‘facts’ of their situation?
This book explores another way of thinking about those issues. Its focus is
indeeduponthevulnerable,butitseekstoprovide amuchricher account of
thatsituationinwhichsomepeoplecometofindthemselves.
International relations (IR) has accorded the vulnerable less systematic
treatment than they deserve, and in this it is quite unlike a number of other
academic disciplines. Concepts of vulnerability are now prominent in the
study of a range of topics like disasters, migration, and climate change, and
appear widely throughout those social sciences where physical and social
systems are seen to interact. For instance, there has developed a general
tendency when investigating the impact of seemingly ‘natural’ disasters to
focus additionally upon their social determinants: ‘a natural hazard does not
alwaysresultinadisaster.Itonlydoessowhenthehazardhitsinacontextof
socialvulnerability’(Gemenne2010:29).Thisnotionof‘socialvulnerability’is
absolutelycentraltowhatfollows,anditsobjectiveistofindawaytointegrate
this approach more effectively within IR. In the spirit of that intellectual
ambition, this is a book that explores the international societal determinants
ofsomeoftheseemingly‘natural’harmsthatbefallhumankind.Accordingly,
itisaboutvariouscategoriesofpeople:thevulnerable.Itisaboutwhotheyare,
and what makes them so within a number of specific policy settings that