Part of his role in the Australian Army Legal Corps allows him to observe States dismissing the Law of Armed Conflict,
as found within the Geneva Conventions, on the basis that it is inherently European. The book series seeks to answer the question ‘how international is international humanitarian law’? To do so, he is seeking a breath of cultures
and their cultural restrictions, in order to try assess whether there are any restrictions that are common to all cultures. This, in turn, can be used to try shape customary international law.
The chapters, whilst stand alone, all follow the same structural format, first exploring the culture in question and their system of governance,
before addressing the first of two-key question: what was their specific goal of warfare? The second key question is how did they regulate themselves?
Each volume is intended to be 10 chapters. Volume 1 covered the following:
- Indigenous Australians
- Greeks
- Vikings
- Maori
- Medieval Europe
- Elizabethan Pirates and Privateers
- Aztecs
- Samurai
- Renaissance Mercenary Bands (Free Companies)
- American Civil War
As you can see, there is much growth for Volume 2, which currently has chapters being written on warfare in Carthage, Tanzania, Mongolia, Han China,
Cheroke, and Papua New Guinea.
Although it is law focused, it is just legal history. The first drafts of the chapter would be due around December 2021; the final draft around March 2022, for publication
in July 2022. This gives a fair bit of time to research more fully into the area. If you know of anyone who might be interested, I would be indebted it if you might send this email forward to them.
More than happy to have a chat about it over a coffe, or I can be reached on the following accounts to discuss the matter further:
Or via mobile on +61 428 888 473.
Samuel White