Aylan, Isis, Begum, Grenfell, Trump. Harambe, Guantanamo, Syria, Brexit, Johnson. COVID, migrants, trolling, George Floyd, Trump! Gazing over the fractured, contested territories of the current global situation, Watkin finds that all these diverse happenings have one element in common. They occur when biopolitical states, in trying to manage and protect the life rights of their citizens, habitually end up committing acts of coercion or disregard against the very people they have promised to protect. When states tasked with making us live find themselves letting us die, then they are practitioners of a particular kind of force that Watkin calls bioviolence. This book explores and exposes the many aspects of contemporary biopower and bioviolence: neglect, exclusion, surveillance, regulation, encampment, trolling, fake news, terrorism and war. As it does so, it demonstrates that the very term ‘violence’ is a discursive construct, an effect of language, made real by our behaviours, embodied by our institutions and disseminated by our technologies. In short, bioviolence is how the contemporary powers that be make us do what they want. Resolutely interdisciplinary, this book is suitable for all scholars, students and general readers in the fields of IR, political theory, philosophy, the humanities, sociology and journalism.

Bioviolence is the ultimate act of terror. The dangers are speedily accelerating, and too little is being done to prevent it. This book describes how diseases such as smallpox, anthrax, or ebola might be used for hostile purposes. It portrays developers of disease weapons and who may have them now, including rogue States and groups such as Al-Qaeda. It formulates a strategy for law enforcers, scientists, and public health officials to prevent intentional disease. Nations and international organizations, especially the United Nations, must coordinate their efforts to improve humanity's security. Altogether the threat of bioviolence is an acute challenge for law and governance. This book explains how to meet that challenge.

"The renewed threat of biological weapons highlights the importance of crafting policy responses informed by the rule of law. This book explores patterns in recent governance initiatives and advocates building a "global biosecurity concert" as a way to address the threats presented by biological weapons and infectious diseases in the early 21st century."--BOOK JACKET.

The non-use of biological weapons has been described as the 'great mystery of biological warfare.' The Biological Weapons Taboo solves that mystery by analysing the bioweapons taboo, in the first comprehensive study of the concept. Bentley explains precisely why bioweapons are perceived as repulsive and how this sentiment is consequently expressed in the form of political behaviours, including the refusal to engage in biological aggression. Drawing on extensive archival evidence, this volume looks back on United States' foreign policy decision-making (particularly in relation to the Geneva Protocol and the Biological Weapons Convention) to demonstrate how and why the taboo has comprised a decisive factor in shaping both biowarfare strategy and political rhetoric - and why the taboo needs to be recognised as a necessary consideration in the study of bioweapons. In analysing a taboo, the volume also takes the debate on international norms forward by questioning and challenging the wider analytic comprehension of 'taboo' itself. Rejecting current definitions of the concept as inadequate, Bentley proposes a new and original model of understanding based on the normative characteristics of disgust, stigmatization, and fetishization.

In the light of scares about potential pandemics such as swine fever and avian flu, the issue of global health and its governance is of increasing concern to scholars and practitioners of medicine, public health, social work, and international politics alike. Providing a concise and informative introduction to how global health is governed, this book: Explores the various ways in which we understand global health governance Explains the "nuts and bolts" of the traditional institutions of global health governance, highlights key frameworks and treaties and their relative successes and failings Examines the actors in global health governance, their purpose, influence and impact Offers an in depth analysis of the effectiveness of global health interventions, focusing particularly on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Highlighting the wide variety of actors, issues and approaches involved, this work shows the complex nature of global health governance, forcing the reader to examine who or what really governs global health, to what outcome, and for whom.

In response to a request from the U.S. Congress, this book examines how the unique experience and extensive capabilities of the Department of Defense (DOD) can be extended to reduce the threat of bioterrorism within developing countries outside the former Soviet Union (FSU). During the past 12 years, DOD has invested $800 million in reducing the risk from bioterrorism with roots in the states of the FSU. The program's accomplishments are many fold. The risk of bioterrorism in other countries is too great for DOD not to be among the leaders in addressing threats beyond the FSU. Taking into account possible sensitivities about a U.S. military presence, DOD should engage interested governments in about ten developing countries outside the FSU in biological threat reduction programs during the next five years. Whenever possible, DOD should partner with other organizations that have well established humanitarian reputations in the countries of interest. For example, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization should be considered as potential partners.