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Encounters at the gate

It’s nearly lunchtime on a warm and sunny September morning, and Professor Kimberly Hutchings is giving her keynote address from a bus stop next to Canning Town station in the London borough of Newham. Around 25 audience members cluster about her, making an earnest effort to pay attention while, in truth, being distracted by the events taking place in the road just a few paces away. There, an articulated lorry transporting a large tank has come to a halt in front of a small group of activists and academics who have sat in the road and refused to move. The lorry is attempting to deliver the tank to the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair, which is to take place next week at the nearby ExCeL centre; the activists are trying to stop it. Police officers remonstrate with those in the road, threatening arrest if they refuse to move and allow the lorry and tank to pass. Now lying down and covered in a banner, which reads ‘Stop the Arms Fair’, they ignore the police and try to listen to Hutchings. It is difficult to hear her over the sound of sirens and the sheer absurdity of the situation, but those present try anyway; her paper, entitled ‘War and Moral Stupidity’, could not be more pertinent. As Hutchings discusses the ways in which just war theory has attempted to differentiate between morally good and morally bad forms of violence, the police drag the protestors out of the road and into handcuffs, clearing the way for the tank to be delivered and exhibited. How did we get here? The DSEI arms fair is one of the largest in the world. It takes place in East London every other September, bringing together over 1500 arms companies and military delegations from more than 100 countries. The UK government invites military delegations from countries including Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, and Egypt, connecting them with potential suppliers. On display at the fair is everything from crowd control equipment to machine guns, tanks, drones, and even battleships. It is an important event in the business of the international arms trade, and cements Britain’s place as a major player in the industry. As such, it also attracts significant opposition. Ever since the fair began in 2001, anti-militarist activists have attempted to disrupt it. Examples of their attempts include greeting arms dealers at City Airport and giving them false directions, registering fake companies as exhibitors in order to gain access and cause