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20 LJIL 359 (2007)
The Genesis of the Civilian

handle is hein.journals/lejint20 and id is 365 raw text is: Leiden Journal ofinternationalLaw, 20 (2007), pp. 359-376 Q Foundation of the Leiden Journal of International Law Printed in the United Kingdom doi:io. 1017/S0922156506003347 The Genesis of the Civilian AMANDA ALEXANDER* Abstract This paper argues that the concept of the civilian is a specific way of viewing non-combatants that can be traced to the First World War. Before the war, non-combatants were seen by the law and the prevailing culture as citizens. The citizen was potentially and probably aggressive, bound to the fate of his or her state and, therefore, granted only minimal protection by law. The war, however, brought technological changes and a propaganda effort that transformed these citizens into a civilian population. Civilians were essential to the war effort, which meant that they were a target. Yet, at the same time, they were feminized, described as vulnerable and deserving of protection. This cultural shift influenced the way in which the laws of war were understood, leading to the replacement of the traditional categories of law with a military/civilian distinction in the 1923 Hague Draft Rules of Aerial Warfare. In this way the concept of the civilian entered international law. Key words civilian; First World War; international humanitarian law; legal history; 1923 Hague Rules of Aerial Warfare Civilians today attract the protection of international law and the attention of the world. Among observers of conflict the plight of civilians is arguably the foremost concern. In more theoretical circles, the inviolability of the civilian has become so ob- vious and crucial that it has been described as the foundation of international order.' Yet the very importance of the civilian provokes the questions, what is the source of this concern and what implications does it have for its subject? Some international lawyers presume that it is a timeless principle of international law.2 Others see it as an achievement of the Lieber Code, the Hague Conventions, and/or the Geneva Conventions.3 In this article, however, I argue that the idea of the civilian is a pecu- liar way of conceptualizing people that evolved during the First World War. When the war began non-combatants were perceived as citizens, who were either volun- tarily passive or wilfully dangerous. But after the Germans invaded Belgium Allied propaganda erased the threatening aspect of the non-combatant population and redrew them as helpless victims. This characterization was reinforced as improve- ments to aircraft allowed for the bombardment of vulnerable population centres far from the front. Yet, at the same time as non-combatants seemed to be more and * BA (Hons.), LL B (UNSW), LL M (Lond.); Ph.D. candidate at the Australian National University. 1. A.-M. Slaughter and W Burke-White, 'An International Constitutional Moment', (2002) 43 Harvard Inter national Law Journal i, at 3. 2. L. C. Green, The Contemporary Law ofArmed Confiict(2000), 2 29. 3. L. Doswald-Beck, 'The Civilian in the Crossfire', (1987) 24 Journal ofPeace Research 251, at 252.

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