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Less Lethal and Non-Lethal Weapons: What are the Implications?

We feature two articles in this issue on what must seem like the panacea for anyone eager to solve the most pressing ethical challenges of war: non-lethal weapons. The broad category of armaments going under the names of less lethal and non-lethal weapons including rubber bullets and non-lethal gases harm but normally do not kill, at least not on their own. Hence, they seem clearly preferable to lethal weapons, especially if they can do the same or better work in given scenarios. It is not hard to see situations in which they would obviously be of great help, such as in crowd control or to win time in tense situations. Yet, both articles herein tell us that we are stepping into a realm in need of thorough discussion. Sjef Orbons reminds us that such weapons do not necessarily perform as they are intended, for technical or human reasons. And Pauline Kaurin insists that even with less lethal or non-lethal weaponry, requirements to shield non-combatants and to engage in warfare only with the greatest reluctance remain highly important. Anyone contemplating the deaths on a large battlefield will ask himor herself why the officers or politicians could not instead have sat down and played, for instance, a game of chess to decide the outcome, rather than letting young soldiers’ firepower and lives decide the outcome. Surely, a real decrease in fatalities in war combatant and non-combatant remains a worthy goal of all military ethics. For that reason, less lethal weapons and non-lethal weapons need to be developed and calibrated, but not without a deep-seated moral debate accompanying their use. It is to that debate that these articles give weighty contributions.