Three grotian theories of humanitarian intervention. The notions seem to intertwine to the extent where it is rather difficult to separate them. The second issue is whether epistemic difficulties in assessing the intervention. Humanitarian intervention is an invaluable contribution to the debate on all aspects of this vital global issue. Intervention and humanitarian intervention, conceived as ideal types, exemplify these two distinct modes of ethical reasoning. Humanitarian intervention, by contrast, has dropped the nonintervention injunction and, by implication,the doctrine of impartiality if impartiality means that the interveners fail to take sides. The issue of humanitarian intervention has generated one of the most heated debates in international relations over the past decade, for both theorists and practitioners. The doctrine of humanitarian intervention in international law typically refers to the threat or use of force by a state, group of states, or international organization primarily for the purpose of protecting the nationals of a particular state from widespread deprivations of internationally recognized human rights, including genocide and crimes against humanity.
Written by leading analysts of international politics, ethics, and law, it seeks, among other things, to identify strategies that may, if not resolve, at least reduce the current tension between human rights and state sovereignty. Nov 26, 2001 it relies on twin assumptions of liberal moral and political theory. Humanitarian intervention under existing international law 80 2. So not all instances of humanitarian intervention count as aggression. The moral basis of humanitarian intervention nardin. Moreover, permitting humanitarian intervention could give the stronger states the chance to intervene in weaker states for their own interest, but under a humanitarian. Through a brief overview of standardized political theory, i justified humanitarian intervention as a moral requirement for humanity.
Humanitarian intervention has been defined as a states use of military force against another state, with publicly stating its goal is to end human rights violations in that state. This definition may be too narrow as it precludes nonmilitary forms of intervention such as humanitarian aid and international sanctions. The unifying theme of these four books is humanitarian interventiona paradigm that permits a state to intervene into the territory of another state, by employing military force, for humanitarian reasons. Humanitarian intervention and the au ecowas intervention. The charter of the united nations clearly prohibits the use of force, with the only exceptions being selfdefence and enforcement actions authorized by the security council. The issue of humanitarian intervention has a long history in international relations theory. Humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect. The theory and practice of humanitarian intervention and the. To qualif y as both legitimate and humanitarian, an intervention has to meet four key requirements, all derived. This paper presents and partly argues for a nonideal theoretic approach to the ethics of humanitarian intervention, focusing particularly on the cases of rwanda and kosovo. Something must be done towards an ethical framework for humanitarian intervention. Consequently, humanitarian intervention can be compared intellectually to 120 affaires courantes et commentaires current issues and comments.
Humanitarian intervention and responsibility to protect parallel with the decline in state sovereignty. For many commentators the paradigm case is that of natos 1999 operation over kosovo, but states are still divided on the legality of this use of force. The first issue is whether standard accounts of the ethics of humanitarian intervention, which draw heavily on just war theory, can capture the prospect of mission creep. However, although the interest for a state to intervene must be weighed up against the outcomes of the intervention and no personal agendas from outside states can influence such interactions. Civil war and regional intervention congressional research service 3 of a russian antitank guided missile, iranian designed and manufactured surfacetoair missiles, and components for unmanned maritime systems. Humanitarian intervention may be defined as forceful interference in the internal politics of one country, undertaken by another country or countries, motivated primarily by altruistic considerations. Continental writers, on the other hand, had started to contest the. Humanitarian intervention both in theory and practice also helped to identify serious and troubling problems created when trying to transform visions of international human rights into reality. The position of the international court of justice 83 2. Third, it is methodologically necessary to reformulate realism as an ethical the ory to be able to address the problem of humanitarian intervention. In this paper, i present a version of just war theory and try to expand it to include a normative analysis of humanitarian intervention.
The politics of humanitarian intervention the journal of. This framework has two key structural supports, sometimes referred to by latin tags. Humanitarian refers principally to the motives for the intervention, namely, to save foreigners from the ills inflicted upon them by their rulers or by powerful. Focusing on the humanitarian inter vention in libya in 2011, this paper examines the question whether the rtop doctrine can be considered as a principle of international. It is evident, however, that the mechanisms needed to carry out humanitarian intervention successfully are still in the process of being developed.
Human rights and the use of force in international law. Humanitarian intervention is rising ever higher in international relations discourse, with many publications exploring the nature, legality and success of these interventions. The liberal case for humanitarian intervention by fernando r. Humanitarian intervention is generally understood to be the transboundary use of military force in order to halt or avert largescale and grave human suffering, and is a subject that has attracted much scholarly attention in recent decades. A history the dilemma of how best to protect human rights is one of the most persistent problems facing the international community today. The classicists argue that allowing intervention for a humanitarian purpose might be easy in theory, but too dangerous in practice. Humanitarian intervention that is, military intervention aimed at saving innocent people in other countries from massive violations of human rights primarily the right to life entered public. It is argued that the just war tradition provides the best framework for discussing the moral arguments for and against humanitarian intervention. Abstract the aim of this paper is to define humanitarian intervention, to analyze its purpose and to evaluate its value in international law. A theoretical assessment of humanitarian intervention and r2p. The term intervention, by contrast, will be used for all kinds of action, humanitarian or not, that constitute outside interference, whether requested by the. The intervention of britain, russia and france in the greek war of independence is regarded as the first armed intervention on humanitarian grounds in world history as depicted by publicists from wheaton onwards and it took place prior to the appearance of the new concept of humanitarian intervention. The humanitarian part of the equation speaks to the motivation, and intervention. As is known, ethnic cleansing does not constitute a speci c criminal o fence.
Just war theory informs humanitarian intervention decisions. This article explores three theories of humanitarian intervention that appear in, or are inspired by, the writings of hugo grotius. Early doctrines of humanitarian intervention, expounded in the seventeenth century, considered the use of armed. Based on sound moral and political judgment military interventions in humanitarian crises would hopefully be less ambitious and ultimately more effective. There are two broad questions about the morality of humanitarian intervention. Humanitarian intervention is generally understood to be the transboundary use of military force in order to halt or avert largescale and grave human suffering, and is a subject that has attracted much. The theory and practice of humanitarian intervention and. Rwanda therefore represents a case of an accepted theory in search of a practice. The moral basis of humanitarian intervention terry nardin he is the author of law, morality, and the relations of states 1983 and the philosophy of michael oakeshott 2001, as well. Humanitarian intervention on its face incompatible with article 24 81 2. The moral problem of hi, as it is usually posed, is that its justifiability seems to be at odds with just war theory. Humanitarian intervention is a key foreign policy for world super powers in the modern day arena of world affairs. A theoretical assessment of humanitarian intervention and r2p yuki yoshida, jan 16 20, 26452 views.
However, whether such a philosophy based on theory was. The famous case illustrating such an act was the rescue by israel of hostages held. The traditional meaning of the term humanitarian intervention focuses on the use or threat of military force by a state or group of states against another state for humanitarian purposes, a right to humanitarian assistance implies that there is a legal basis to provide emergency relief across borders, even when this is carried out. Human rights and humanitarian action hpg background paper 3 1. The principles of humanitarian action in international. Humanitarian intervention, consent, and proportionality 45 war would not be aggression, but would be both a war of defense and an instance of humanitarian intervention. All five have an explicit pedigree in christian just war theory. Such an approach, it is argued, involves empirically scrutinizing two. The evolving legitimacy of humanitarian interventions sur. Though humanitarian interventions do not necessarily require the employment of military forceas they could include, for example, the imposition of sanctions the term refers normally to. The history of humanitarian intervention in theory and. This unique and wideranging history of humanitarian intervention examines responses to oppression, persecution, and mass atrocities from the.
Since the humanitarian tragedies in rwanda, burundi, bosnia, kosovo and elsewhere, states have begun advocating a right to undertake interventions to stop mass violations of human rights from occurring. The basic framework of just war theory is then introduced and its central motivation analyzed. This is especially true of those activated by the security council. Affaires courantes et commentaires current issues and. The rule of law in an incoherent world ian hurd t he concept of humanitarian intervention has evolved as a subset of the laws governing the use of force and has very. However, it is important to differentiate between legality and legitimacy when trying to assess the legal status of humanitarian intervention. Humanitarian intervention ethical,legal,andpoliticaldilemmas edited by j. In this chapter, we begin to develop the otherdefensive conception of mhi. Humanitarian intervention remains a very controversial area of international law. Pdf from humanitarian intervention to the responsibility to. Abstract the aim of this paper is to define humanitarian intervention.
In theory, humanitarian intervention has made significant advances in recent years. Armed humanitarian intervention internet encyclopedia of. The use of force by a state in order to rescue its own nationals abroad does not amount to humanitarian intervention. The theoretical puzzles of humanitarian intervention can be well explained in light. Humanitarian intervention has been defined as a states use of military force against another state when the chief publicly declared aim of that military action is ending humanrights violations being perpetrated by the state against which it is directed. Taylor seybolts thoroughly documented and rigorously. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise cambridge core to connect with your account. Rosalyn higginss process theory explains how the dynamics of the process.
Kosovo and the law of humanitarian intervention volume 93 issue 4 louis henkin. Pdf kosovo and the collateral effects of humanitarian. Humanitarian intervention and international relations. Humanitarian intervention in a multipolar world pdf paperity. Humanitarian intervention essay sample new york essays. Humanitarian intervention, the responsibility to protect. This wording also serves to emphasize the fact that the forces engaged in the intervention are bound by humanitarian law in their military operations.
Chapter i just war theory and humanitarian intervention. Humanitarian intervention is generally used in this novel sense while humanitarian assistance, relief, and similar expressions refer to the traditional form. Humanitarianrefers principally to the motives for the intervention, namely, to save foreigners from the ills inflicted upon them by their rulers or by powerful, protected groups in their own country. Taylor seybolts thoroughly documented and rigorously argued cases provide speci. Cases of genocide and mass violence have raised endless debates about the theory and practice of humanitarian intervention to save innocent lives. In that article, firstly, we will try to discuss legitimacy of humanitarian intervention with theoretical approaches which include realist, liberal and. The problem of humanitarian intervention after the cold war 36. In the past three decades the world has been inflicted with suffering, war and massive human rights abuses. The papers in this volume offer an informative analysis of humanitarian intervention with real intellectual coherence. Humanitarian intervention in the long nineteenth century. The history of humanitarian intervention in theory and practice. Since the issue of humanitarian intervention is related to international law, political science, morality. Humanitarian intervention, despite its claims to moral credibility, makes international ther afghanistan or iraq, anne orfords reading humanitarian interven. Just war theory respects national sover eignty, and.
The history of humanitarian intervention in theory and practice seminar 2nd term 20142015 organized by dirk moses hec and jennifer welsh sps mondays 11. Feb 01, 2010 we use your linkedin profile and activity data to personalize ads and to show you more relevant ads. Commonsense morality and the consequentialist ethics of humanitarian intervention. Such interventions have often been undertaken in the context of peacekeeping operations, although humanitarian intervention differs. Humanitarian intervention is a use of military force to address extraordinary suffering of people, such as genocide or similar, largescale violation of basic of human rights, where peoples suffering results from their own governments actions or failures to act. Next, humanitarian intervention is discussed in relation to the commitment to reduce human suffering leading to the standpoint that all states have a moral obligation, extending beyond boundaries, to reduce harm. On this broader understanding, humanitarian intervention. Even at this early stage, for example, it became evident that humanitarian intervention. The interdisciplinarity of the contributions, the sensitivity to the phenomenon of weak states, and the recognition of the tensions between human rights and the war on terrorism, combine to make this book both timely and welcome. Kosovo and the law of humanitarian intervention american. From humanitarian intervention to the responsibility to.
Based on sound moral and political judgment military interventions in humanitarian. Bhikhu parekh, humanitarian intervention is an act of intervention in the internal affairs of another. The legal status of humanitarian intervention and its relationship to international humanitarian law humanitarian intervention. The evolution away from the discourse of humanitarian intervention, which had been so divisive, and toward the embrace of the new concept of the responsibility to protect has been a fascinating piece of intellectual history in its own right. Humanitarian military intervention is not an oxymoron but a central policy challenge of our times. The concept of humanitarian intervention international studies. In fact, one of the re c u rrent conundrums in political theory. This unique and wideranging history of humanitarian intervention. While the purpose of humanitarian intervention is to reduce human suffering, the harm that usually follows from a military intervention evokes considerations not just about states but also about individuals and peoples. Could humanitarian intervention be legally justified in extreme cases.
Affaires courantes et commentaires current issues and comments. The question of the legality of humanitarian intervention is, at first blush, a simple one. The dilemma of humanitarian intervention muhammad hassan zia assistant professor university of the punjab gujranwala campus gujranwala, pakistan. Humanitarian intervention constitutes a calculated and uninvited breach of sovereignty state rights in the name of humanity individual rights. This militarized humanitarian intervention took the form of a new kind of operation, the. Humanitarian intervention is legitimate when it is directed at suppressing human rights abuses and complies with the doctrine of double effect.