ABSTRACT
To believe the claims of proponents or critics though, the nature of policing and warfare may alter dramatically in the near future, in part because of the capabilities of non-lethal weapons. In this situation the pressing question arises of how to respond to such developments. The dilemma arises for those involved in peace research of how to respond to weapons ostensibly designed to reduce suffering. In what ways, for instance, might the effects of NLWs be deemed unacceptable? How could their use lead to dubious practices? What measures must be taken to ensure their positive aspects are realized? Any response to such questions must contend with a variety of complicating factors: the diversity of police, incarceration and military origins and contexts of use of NLWs, the plethora of relevant international and domestic laws that might be brought to bear on their deployment and the competing criteria advanced for their evaluation.
