Chapter

The bombing of Harrods : norms against civilian targeting

Ronald J. Kuerbitz

International incidents : the law that counts in world politics

Princeton : Princeton University Press, 1988

p. 238-262

English

Recent trends in warfare, including the increased use of terror, have curtailed the effectiveness of traditional limitations on the conduct of war, and have raised concerns that the norm against civilian targeting no longer exists. Within this context a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) statement issued December 18 1983, claiming responsibility for a bomb attack on Harrods department store in London on the previous day, but offering assurances that such an attack would not recur, presents an unusual incident. The Harrods bombing incident indicates that the norm may be extended to unconventional wars such as the conflict in Northern Ireland, despite strong counterpressures.

• International incidents : the law that counts in world politics / ed. by W. Michael Reisman and Andrew R. Willard