Sarah Perrigo is Postgraduate Research Director at the Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford. She is the co-editor of The Geneva Conventions Under Assault (Pluto Press, 2010).Jim Whitman is a senior lecturer in the Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford and general editor of the Palgrave Global Issues book series. He is the co-editor of The Geneva Conventions Under Assault (Pluto Press, 2010).

• Preface Abbreviations and Acronyms 1. The Geneva Conventions and the Normative Tenor of International Relations by Sonia Cardenas2. The History and Status of the Geneva Conventions by Wade Mansell and Karen Openshaw3. The Principle of Proportionality in the Law of Armed Conflict by Françoise Hampson4. Civilian Protection – What’s Left of the Norm? by Stuart Gordon5. The Protection of Detainees in International Humanitarian Law by Keiichiro Okimoto6. Non-Lethal Weapons: A Rose by any Other Name by Nick Lewer7. From ‘Total War’ to ‘Total Operations’ – Contemporary Doctrine and Adherence to IHL by Björn Müller-Wille8. The Paradox of Value Discourses by Helen Dexter9. Freeing Force from Legal Constraint by Jim Whitman10. Undermining International Humanitarian Law and the Politics of Liberal Democracies by Sarah PerrigoAbout the Contributors Index

'Few international instruments are more necessary today than the Geneva Conventions. This valuable, timely and very accessible collection of essays explains their foundational values and, from a range of perspectives, their ability to outlast short term political imperatives'