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Humanitarian Intervention: Ethical, Legal And Political Dilemmas?

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Humanitarian intervention has come to describe the use of military force by states or international organizations in response to humanitarian crises and human rights violations such as genocides, ethnic cleansings, etc. In recent times, particularly after the Cold War, there have been several instances of humanitarian intervention including Kosovo, Libya, and most recently Syria. There are a variety of opinions on the issue of humanitarian intervention. Proponents see it as an effective way to end human rights violations while its opponents view it as a pretext for continued military action and war, devoid of legality and justification while also neglecting the sovereignty of nations.
The concept of sovereignty is a major issue in the carrying out of humanitarian …show more content…
Also, I will be looking into the roadblock that sovereignty can create when attempting to end human rights violations. The four sources I have chosen reflect some of these difference in opinions while also examining the legal and ethical considerations of humanitarian intervention.
Holzgrefe, J. L. (2003) The humanitarian intervention debate. In Holzgrefe, J.L. & Keohane, R. O. (Eds.), Humanitarian intervention: Ethical, legal and political dilemmas (pp. 15-52) Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. In this chapter, Holzgrefe outlines the key concepts and points of contention in the debate on humanitarian intervention. Holzgrefe discusses the ethics associated with intervention, based on the ethical theories of utilitarianism, natural law, social contractarianism, communitarianism and legal positivism. Also, Holzgrefe discusses the legality of intervention and the role of international law. In his analysis of the issue of intervention, Holzgrefe concludes that governments must recognize both the legal and ethical considerations of

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