Humanitarian Intervention: Ideas in Action

by Thomas G. Weiss, Gareth Evans (Foreword)

A singular development of the post Cold-War era is the use of military force to protect human beings. From Rwanda to Kosovo, Sierra Leone to East Timor, soldiers have rescued civilians in some of the world's most notorious war zones.

Drawing on two decades of research, Thomas G. Weiss provides a compelling introduction to the theory and practice of humanitarian intervention in the modern world. He examines political, ethical, legal, strategic, economic, and operational dimensions and uses a wide range of cases to highlight key debates and controversies.

This succinct and highly accessible survey is neither celebratory nor complacent. The author locates the normative evolution of what is increasingly known as "the responsibility to protect" in the context of the war on terror and the 2005 UN World Summit. The result is an engaging exploration of the current dilemmas and future challenges for international humanitarian action in the 21st Century.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2007

About the author

Thomas G. Weiss is Presidential Professor of Political Science at The CUNY Graduate Center and Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, where he is co-director of the UN Intellectual History Project. He is President (2009-10) of the International Studies Association, chair (2006-9) of the Academic Council on the UN System (ACUNS). His latest book is What's Wrong with the United Nations and How to Fix It (2009).

As Research Professor at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies (1990-98), he also held university administrative posts (Associate Dean of the Faculty, Director of the Global Security Program, Associate Director), was the Executive Director of ACUNS, and co-directed the Humanitarianism and War Project. Earlier, he was the Executive Director of the International Peace Academy (1985-9); a Senior Economic Affairs Officer at the UN Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva (1975-85); and held professional posts in the Office of the UN Commissioner for Namibia, the University Program at the Institute for World Order, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, and International Labor Organization. He has been a consultant for foundations and numerous inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations and was editor of Global Governance (2000-5) and research director of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (2000-2).

Reviews

[Michael Griswold · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm venturing a guess that the 2nd edition of Thomas G. Weiss text on humanitarian intervention mostly would appeal to political science majors heavily invested in the concept, but its' written in a fairly straightforward way, so that the average person on the street without years of political science courses would walk away with an understanding of what humanitarian intervention is, how the concept is applied, and the problems that applying the concept within the international community are covered. Sadly, I have not read the first edition to know what Weiss added or subtracted, but still a solid effort.

[William Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent theoretical and practical introduction to the politics and philosophy surrounding intervention on humanitarian grounds. With particular unsurprising examples of Kosovo, Iraq, Sudan, and DRC, Weiss develops a sometimes-passionate defence of the tenants of humanitarian interventionism whilst raising pertinent questions about whether such interventions will ever see a rise after 2003's illegal invasion of Iraq. The framing of geopolitics around ECOWAS' extension of the philosophy of humanitarian interventionism to include a declaration of favouring pro-stability reforms in Article 4h, explicitly related to the R2P UN 2005 doctrine. A strong theoretical IR introduction into 2000s geopolitics, instrumentally vital for becoming well-informed about contentious issues like the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weiss has written a scholarly book in favor of humanitarian intervention and how important it can be. In an era of weak countries with dubious strength, the idea of borders and nationhood is a poor excuse for powerful nations to leave citizens in weak nations at the mercy of a cruel and often homicidal government. Weiss points out that the UN did help in the Gulf War and ran a successful campaign of humanitarian intervention in the Balkans. In a survey, the people of the Balkans were asked if they preferred intervention or none and less than 10% felt the intervention was wrong. The vast majority felt it was welcome and necessary. This was a good book to read as we are considering entering Syria. The 3 stars had more to do with the difficulty of the book which is meant for academia rather than a mainstream audience like me!

[Mills College Library]

361.26 W4326 2012