Pearson\Banning the Bomb\Mallavarapu p.i Final Proof (CRC): 12:30:00 PM; 24-11-2006 iiiii Banning the Bomb Pearson\Banning the Bomb\Mallavarapu p.ii Final Proof (CRC): 12:30:00 PM; 24-11-2006 iiiiiiiiii This Page is Intentionally Left Blank Pearson\Banning the Bomb\Mallavarapu p.iii Final Proof (CRC): 12:30:00 PM; 24-11-2006 iiiiiiiiiiiiiii Banning the Bomb The Politics of Norm Creation Siddharth Mallavarapu Pearson\Banning the Bomb\Mallavarapu p.iv Final Proof (CRC): 12:30:00 PM; 24-11-2006 iiiiivvvvv Copyright © 2007 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser and without lim- iting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, pho- tocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. ISBN: 978-81-317-0117-1 First Impression, 2007 Published by Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd., licensees of Pearson Education in South Asia. Head Office: 482, F.I.E., Patparganj, Delhi 110 092, India. Registered Office: 14 Local Shopping Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017, India. Typeset by InoSoft Systems, Noida Printed in India at Baba Barkha Nath Printers Pearson\Banning the Bomb\Mallavarapu p.v Final Proof (CRC): 12:30:00 PM; 24-11-2006 vvvvv For my grandfather Shri Mahidhara Ananda Mohan Rao in admiration of his erudition and receptivity to the idea of intergenerational equity and to my grandmother Smt. Kamakshi for her unconditional love and support Pearson\Banning the Bomb\Mallavarapu p.vi Final Proof (CRC): 12:30:00 PM; 24-11-2006 vvvvviiiii This Page is Intentionally Left Blank Pearson\Banning the Bomb\Mallavarapu p.vii Final Proof (CRC): 12:30:00 PM; 24-11-2006 vvvvviiiiiiiiii CONTENTS Foreword by B.S. Chimni ix Acknowledgements xiii List of Abbreviations xv 1. Introduction 1 2. The Politics of Norm Creation: The Engagement 31 of States and Non-state Actors 3. Individual Responses to the World Court’s 68 Majority Opinion 4. The Dissent of Judge Weeramantry 106 5. International Relations Theory and the July 1996 Opinion 140 6. Conclusion 167 Appendix 174 Bibliography 213 Index 222 About the Author 230 Pearson\Banning the Bomb\Mallavarapu p.viii Final Proof (CRC): 12:30:00 PM; 24-11-2006 vvvvviiiiiiiiiiiiiii This Page is Intentionally Left Blank Pearson\Banning the Bomb\Mallavarapu p.ix Final Proof (CRC): 12:30:00 PM; 24-11-2006 iiiiixxxxx FOREWORD Siddharth Mallavarapu has written a brilliant book on a subject of crucial interest to the global peace movement—the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. The book is written in elegant prose. It captures with acumen the theoretical contestations relating to the politics of norm creation through analyzing the events leading up to the seeking of the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the subsequent opinion of the Court in the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons case. Mallavarapu frames his arguments in the matrix of the general debate between structural realists, with their emphasis on power, and constructivists, with their stress on the ideational element in international relations. His contention is that the constructivist approach to interna- tional relations offers a more insightful account of the politics of norm creation. The World Court Project that persuaded UN member states to seek the advisory opinion of the ICJ on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons was after all the initiative of non-state actors. The enterprise showed how the consistent espousal of an idea, in this case the need to delegitimize nuclear weapons, can help transform normative space. The opinion of the ICJ was delivered on July 8, 1996. By the casting vote of the President of the ICJ (Judge Mohammed Bedjaoui) the Court inter alia decided that “... the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, and in particular the principles and rules of humanitarian law.” It, however, went on to add that “in view of the current state of