Stealth Change: How the United States and the United Kingdom Embraced International Humanitarian Limits on Nuclear Use

Abstract

This article explains American and British policy change -- from refusal to acceptance -- regarding the applicability of the law of armed conflict (LOAC) to nuclear use. Through a study of primary and secondary sources, and interviews with protagonists, I argue that processes of international social pressure, domestic pressure, and domestic legal interpretation help explain this change. I show how from 1965 onwards multilateral processes quietly began to promote international legal change in the area of civilian protection in general, nuclear warfare included. Because early change came under the guise of general “principles”, not binding rules, British and American officials treated it as lip service. Gradually, official views transformed as government lawyers clarified their understanding of distinction, proportionality, and precaution as international customary LOAC principles applicable to all forms of warfare, including nuclear weapons.