Doing Good and Doing Well: An Examination of Humanitarian Intervention

After an analysis of the legal and philosophical issues bearing on the idea of humanitarian intervention, defined as the use of force by one or more states to remedy severe human rights abuses in a particular country, this study focuses upon the moral duties that individual members of the international community have towards the welfare of others. Events have indicated that humanitarian intervention is likely to play a larger role in international relations in the future. Examples in the contemporary period include Somalia, Liberia, Haiti, the Kurds in Iraq, Uganda and East Pakistan. This text emphasizes the role of the United States in humanitarian intervention and argues that increased American involvement is essential. The author suggests that the American people as a whole may be more prepared to see the United States take an active role in humanitarian intervention than are certain media and government elites . Strong national leadership that stresses the moral duty of the United States will be necessary to tap this latent altruism in order to contribute to higher standards of international human rights. Individual topics include assessment criteria for the moral legitimacy of intervention, unilateral versus multilateral efforts, and factors thet appear to persuade or dissuade states from participating in such intervertion. This volume focuses on certain themes and patterns in humanitarian intervention, which are then illustrared using historical data from a variety of different examples.