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The claimed rationale behind such an intervention is the [[belief]], embodied in international customary [[law]], in a duty under certain circumstances to disregard a state's [[sovereignty]] to preserve our common [[humanity]].

The claimed rationale behind such an intervention is the [[belief]], embodied in international customary [[law]], in a duty under certain circumstances to disregard a state's [[sovereignty]] to preserve our common [[humanity]].

==History==

==History==

Intervening in the affairs of another state has been a subject of discussion in international [[law]] for as long as laws of nations were developed. [[Attitude]]s have changed considerably since the end of [[World War II]], the Allied discovery of the Holocaust, and the Nuremberg trials. One of the classic statements for intervention in the affairs of another country is found in John Stuart Mill's essay, ''A Few Words on Non-Intervention'' (1859)[1]

Intervening in the affairs of another state has been a subject of discussion in international [[law]] for as long as laws of nations were developed. [[Attitude]]s have changed considerably since the end of [[World War II]], the Allied discovery of the Holocaust, and the Nuremberg trials. One of the classic statements for intervention in the affairs of another country is found in John Stuart Mill's essay, ''A Few Words on Non-Intervention'' (1859)[1]

<blockquote>"When the contest is only with native rulers, and with such native strength as those rulers can enlist in their defence, the answer I should give to the question of the legitimacy of intervention is, as a general rule, No. The reason is, that there can seldom be anything approaching to assurance that intervention, even if successful, would be for the [[good]] of the people themselves. The only test possessing any real [[value]], of a people’s having become fit for popular institutions, is that they, or a sufficient portion of them to prevail in the contest, are willing to brave labour and danger for their liberation. I know all that may be said, I know it may be urged that the [[virtue]]s of freemen cannot be learnt in the school of slavery, and that if a people are not fit for freedom, to have any chance of becoming so they must first be free. And this would be conclusive, if the intervention recommended would really give them freedom. But the evil is, that if they have not sufficient love of liberty to be able to wrest it from merely domestic oppressors, the liberty which is bestowed on them by other hands than their own, will have nothing real, nothing permanent. No people ever was and remained free, but because it was determined to be so..."</blockquote>

<blockquote>"When the contest is only with native rulers, and with such native strength as those rulers can enlist in their defence, the answer I should give to the question of the legitimacy of intervention is, as a general rule, No. The reason is, that there can seldom be anything approaching to assurance that intervention, even if successful, would be for the [[good]] of the people themselves. The only test possessing any real [[value]], of a people’s having become fit for popular institutions, is that they, or a sufficient portion of them to prevail in the contest, are willing to brave labour and danger for their liberation. I know all that may be said, I know it may be urged that the [[virtue]]s of freemen cannot be learnt in the school of slavery, and that if a people are not fit for freedom, to have any chance of becoming so they must first be free. And this would be conclusive, if the intervention recommended would really give them freedom. But the evil is, that if they have not sufficient love of liberty to be able to wrest it from merely domestic oppressors, the liberty which is bestowed on them by other hands than their own, will have nothing real, nothing permanent. No people ever was and remained free, but because it was determined to be so..."</blockquote>

==Modern doctrine==

==Modern doctrine==

A modern, post [[World War II]] example of humanitarian intervention appeared during the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biafran_War Biafran War] (1967-1970). The conflict lead to a famine which caused great [[suffering]], widely covered in western press outlets but totally ignored by government leaders in the name of neutrality and non-intervention. This situation lead to the creation of NGOs like Médecins Sans Frontières, which defended the [[idea]] that certain [[public]] [[health]] situations might justify the extraordinary [[action]] of calling into question the sovereignty of states. The [[concept]] was developed theoretically at the end of the 1980s, notably by law professor Mario Bettati and French politician (and former president of Médecins Sans Frontières) Bernard Kouchner.

A modern, post [[World War II]] example of humanitarian intervention appeared during the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biafran_War Biafran War] (1967-1970). The conflict lead to a famine which caused great [[suffering]], widely covered in western press outlets but totally ignored by government leaders in the name of neutrality and non-intervention. This situation lead to the creation of NGOs like Médecins Sans Frontières, which defended the [[idea]] that certain [[public]] [[health]] situations might justify the extraordinary [[action]] of calling into question the sovereignty of states. The [[concept]] was developed theoretically at the end of the 1980s, notably by law professor Mario Bettati and French politician (and former president of Médecins Sans Frontières) Bernard Kouchner.

More recently, an alternative approach to humanitarian intervention known as 'Responsibility to protect' (R2P) has emerged. Responsibility to Protect is the name of a report produced in 2001 by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) which was established by the Canadian government in response to the [[history]] of unsatisfactory humanitarian interventions. The report sought to establish a set of clear guidelines for determining when intervention is appropriate, what the appropriate [[channel]]s for approving an intervention are and how the intervention itself should be carried out.

More recently, an alternative approach to humanitarian intervention known as 'Responsibility to protect' (R2P) has emerged. Responsibility to Protect is the name of a report produced in 2001 by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) which was established by the Canadian government in response to the [[history]] of unsatisfactory humanitarian interventions. The report sought to establish a set of clear guidelines for determining when intervention is appropriate, what the appropriate [[channel]]s for approving an intervention are and how the intervention itself should be carried out.

==External links==

==External links==

This article relies heavily on the [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingérence_humanitaire French Wikipedia entry on humanitarian intervention], which was accessed for translation on [[August 27]] [[2005]].

This article relies heavily on the [https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingérence_humanitaire French Wikipedia entry on humanitarian intervention], which was accessed for translation on [[August 27]] [[2005]].

*[http://www.usip.org/pubs/peaceworks/pwks45.html The Ethics of Armed Humanitarian Intervention] [[U.S. Institute of Peace]] August 2002

*[https://www.usip.org/pubs/peaceworks/pwks45.html The Ethics of Armed Humanitarian Intervention] [[U.S. Institute of Peace]] August 2002

*[http://them.polylog.org/5/awm-en.htm The Argument about Humanitarian Intervention] By Michael Walzer

*[https://them.polylog.org/5/awm-en.htm The Argument about Humanitarian Intervention] By Michael Walzer

*[http://www.burneylawfirm.com/international_law_primer.htm A Brief Primer on International Law] With cases and commentary.  Nathaniel Burney, 2007.

*[https://www.burneylawfirm.com/international_law_primer.htm A Brief Primer on International Law] With cases and commentary.  Nathaniel Burney, 2007.

*[http://www.un.org Official United Nations website]

*[https://www.un.org Official United Nations website]

*[http://www.un.org/law Official UN website on International Law]

*[https://www.un.org/law Official UN website on International Law]

*[http://www.icj-cij.org/ Official website of the International Court of Justice]

*[https://www.icj-cij.org/ Official website of the International Court of Justice]

This article relies heavily on the French Wikipedia entry on humanitarian intervention, which was accessed for translation on August 27, 2005.

This article relies heavily on the French Wikipedia entry on humanitarian intervention, which was accessed for translation on August 27, 2005.

[[Category: Political Science]]

[[Category: Political Science]]