Humanitarian Intervention: When to hold and when to fold

Not too long ago humanitarian intervention while under the R2P doctrine was a theoretical possibility, after the complicated foreign intervention in Iraq in 2003, where the US broke the UN’s mechanisms for humanitarian intervention, became a practical impossibility. To quote Harriet Martin, author of Kings of Peace, Pawns of War, “Humanitarian Intervention is dead, and we killed it”. However, the Arab Spring and Libya have reignited both the practice and the debate!

A few recent articles worth following are: 1. Review in the Economist of “Can Intervention Work?” By Rory Stewart and Gerald Knaus to quote:CAN we intervene in foreign countries and do good? Can we stop wars and genocides and get rid of evil dictators? Can we then build modern, democratic states that thrive in our wake? The answer depends on who you ask. An anti-Qaddafi Libyan will have nice things to say about NATO’s role there right now. But you will get very different views from an Afghan, an Iraqi, a Bosnian or a Kosovar.

So, does intervention work? As any Bosnian peasant may tell you, “maybe yes, maybe no.” It depends on the circumstances and requires modest ambitions. Muddle through with a sense of purpose, says Mr Knaus. Do what you can, where you can and no more, agrees Mr Stewart. In policy terms that sounds a bit like “yes” to Libya, “no” to Syria and so on.

1. Recent essay in latest edition of Foreign Affairs magazine has two conflicting articles on the subject. Humanitarian Intervention Comes of Age - Jon Western and Joshua S. Goldstein Despite the fall of the Qaddafi regime in Libya, humanitarian intervention still has plenty of critics. But their targets are usually the early, ugly missions of the 1990s. Since then—as Libya has shown—the international community has learned its lessons and grown much more adept at using military force to save lives.

The True Costs of Humanitarian Intervention - Benjamin A. Valentino Intervening militarily to save lives abroad often sounds good on paper, but the record has not been promising. The ethical calculus involved is almost always complicated by messy realities on the ground, and the opportunity costs of such missions are massive. Well-meaning countries could save far more lives by helping refugees and victims of natural disasters and funding public health.