Human Shields
A History of People in the Line of Fire, Updated with a New Preface and Epilogue
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 17. March 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
324 pages
978-0-520-43240-6 (ISBN)
Description
A chilling global history of the human shield phenomenon-now with urgent new reflections on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
From Syrian civilians locked in iron cages to veterans joining peaceful indigenous water protectors at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, from Sri Lanka to Iraq and from Yemen to the United States, human beings have been used as shields for protection, coercion, or deterrence. Over the past decade, human shields have also appeared with increasing frequency in antinuclear struggles, civil and environmental protests, and even computer games. The phenomenon, however, is by no means a new one.
Describing the use of human shields in key historical and contemporary moments across the globe, Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini demonstrate how the increasing weaponization of human beings has made the position of civilians trapped in theaters of violence more precarious and their lives more expendable. They show how the law facilitates the use of lethal violence against vulnerable people while portraying it as humane, but they also reveal how people can and do use their own vulnerability to resist violence and denounce forms of dehumanization. Ultimately, Human Shields unsettles our common ethical assumptions about violence and the law and urges us to imagine entirely new forms of humane politics.
From Syrian civilians locked in iron cages to veterans joining peaceful indigenous water protectors at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, from Sri Lanka to Iraq and from Yemen to the United States, human beings have been used as shields for protection, coercion, or deterrence. Over the past decade, human shields have also appeared with increasing frequency in antinuclear struggles, civil and environmental protests, and even computer games. The phenomenon, however, is by no means a new one.
Describing the use of human shields in key historical and contemporary moments across the globe, Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini demonstrate how the increasing weaponization of human beings has made the position of civilians trapped in theaters of violence more precarious and their lives more expendable. They show how the law facilitates the use of lethal violence against vulnerable people while portraying it as humane, but they also reveal how people can and do use their own vulnerability to resist violence and denounce forms of dehumanization. Ultimately, Human Shields unsettles our common ethical assumptions about violence and the law and urges us to imagine entirely new forms of humane politics.
More details
Edition
First Edition, Revised Preface and Epilogue
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
36 b-w illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 158 mm
Width: 229 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
516 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-43240-6 (9780520432406)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Neve Gordon | Nicola Perugini
Human Shields
A History of People in the Line of Fire, Updated with a New Preface and Epilogue
E-Book
03/2026
1st Edition
Naval Institute Press
€24.49
Available for download
Persons
Neve Gordon is Professor of Human Rights and the Politics of Humanitarian Law at Queen Mary University of London. He is the author of Israel's Occupation and coauthor of The Human Right to Dominate.
Nicola Perugini is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Edinburgh. He is the coauthor of The Human Right to Dominate.
Nicola Perugini is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Edinburgh. He is the coauthor of The Human Right to Dominate.
Content
List of Illustrations
Introduction Preface: Shielding and the Destruction of Gaza
1 Civil War
Humane Warfare in the United States
2 Irregulars
The Franco-German War and the Legal Use of Human Shields
3 Settlers
The Second Boer War and the Limits of Liberal Humanitarianism
4 Reports
World War I and the German use of Human Screens
5 Peace Army
International Pacifism and Voluntary Shielding during the Sino-Japanese War
6 Emblem
The Italo-Ethiopian War and Red Cross Medical Facilities
7 Nuremberg
Nazi Human Shielding and the Lack of Civilian Protections
8 Codification
The Geneva Conventions and the Passive Civilian
9 People's War
Casting Vietnamese Resistance as Human Shielding
10 Environment
Green Human Shielding
11 Resistance
Antimilitary Activism in Iraq and Palestine
12 Humanitarian Crimes
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
13 Manuals
Military Handbooks as Lawmaking Tools
14 Scale
Human Shielding in Sri Lanka and the Principle of Proportionality
15 Hospitals
The Use of Medical Facilities as Shields
16 Proximity
Civilians Trapped in the Midst of the War on ISIS
17 Info-War
The Gaza Wars and Social Media
18 Posthuman Shielding
Drone Warfare and New Surveillance Technologies
19 Women and Children
Gender, Passivity, and Human Shields
20 Spectacle
Viral Images That Dehumanize or Humanize Shields
21 Computer Games
Human Shields in Virtual Wars
22 Protest
Civil Disobedience as an Act of War
Epilogue: Shielding Genocide
Acknowledgments
Notes
References
Index
Introduction Preface: Shielding and the Destruction of Gaza
1 Civil War
Humane Warfare in the United States
2 Irregulars
The Franco-German War and the Legal Use of Human Shields
3 Settlers
The Second Boer War and the Limits of Liberal Humanitarianism
4 Reports
World War I and the German use of Human Screens
5 Peace Army
International Pacifism and Voluntary Shielding during the Sino-Japanese War
6 Emblem
The Italo-Ethiopian War and Red Cross Medical Facilities
7 Nuremberg
Nazi Human Shielding and the Lack of Civilian Protections
8 Codification
The Geneva Conventions and the Passive Civilian
9 People's War
Casting Vietnamese Resistance as Human Shielding
10 Environment
Green Human Shielding
11 Resistance
Antimilitary Activism in Iraq and Palestine
12 Humanitarian Crimes
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
13 Manuals
Military Handbooks as Lawmaking Tools
14 Scale
Human Shielding in Sri Lanka and the Principle of Proportionality
15 Hospitals
The Use of Medical Facilities as Shields
16 Proximity
Civilians Trapped in the Midst of the War on ISIS
17 Info-War
The Gaza Wars and Social Media
18 Posthuman Shielding
Drone Warfare and New Surveillance Technologies
19 Women and Children
Gender, Passivity, and Human Shields
20 Spectacle
Viral Images That Dehumanize or Humanize Shields
21 Computer Games
Human Shields in Virtual Wars
22 Protest
Civil Disobedience as an Act of War
Epilogue: Shielding Genocide
Acknowledgments
Notes
References
Index