Essay Example on I tend to examine moral grounds of humanitarian Intervention

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In my essay I tend to examine moral grounds of humanitarian intervention I will start with observing the term of just cause then will give definition to humanitarian intervention and will move to examine the question why HI is so relevant these days and why it s seen as controversial topic I will do it by providing arguments and counter arguments In this essay I will argue that humanitarian intervention can be morally and legally justified in certain circumstances which I will analyze in the main body of my essay Humanitarian intervention is considered to be a hard test for international community built on principles of sovereignty non intervention and non use of force But after Holocaust focus was shifted towards human rights genocide conventions and protection of non combatants Bellamy and Wheeler 480 just ad bellum I will start my argument with defining and examining important and crucial terms that cannot be omitted when we discuss humanitarian intervention We can consider war as just when it meets certain requirements 1 jus ad bellum that is just cause 2 it is approved by legal authority 3 those who conduct war have just motives 4 the principle of proportionality the costs incurred by the war are not disproportionate in comparison to the wrongs that justify the waging war 5 war is the last measure to address 6 war has chances to meet its goals 7 its aim is a fair peace Caney 2005 191 192 As I said at the core of Just War Theory lies the principle of just ad bellum just cause It provides cases when it is legitimate to start war 



The main idea of just ad bellum is the idea that if we decide to take non peaceful actions it would only be for good reason Snapcott 156 Untill the end of 19th centuary there was no such difference between hostile attacking actions and protective onces Both of them could have been turned by governments into a just cause Only after 1945 the right to agressive war was banned The monopoly to permit any kind of armed conflict and to estimate just cause was granted to UN Ceadal 1989 11 13 In today's world just ad bellum is mainly composed by self defense defense of others restoration of peace defense of rights and the punishment of wrongdoers Bellamy 2006 122 According Snapcott humanitarian intervention challenges ban for aggressive war suggesting interference to stop mass killings and crimes against humanity which are sufficient cause to overturn a state s right of non intervention Snappcot 2010 177 178 Before arguing whether humanitarian intervention is justified or not it is worth clarifying what humanitarian intervention is Holzgrefe suggests the following definition the threat or use of force across state borders by a state or group of states aimed at preventing or ending widespread and grave violations of the fundamental human rights of individuals other than its own citizens without the permission of the state within whose territory force is applied Holzgrefe 2003 18


The principle that all states are equally sovereign members of the community is set down in Article 2 1 of United Nations Charter UN Chapter I Sovereignty is an ability and the right of state to have autonomy in respect to the citizens and resources inside the borders ICISS 12 The principle of non intervention is expressed in Article 2 7 UN Chapter I Every state should value the statehood of another by not intervening in the domestic policy Sovereigns have a right to pursue its own policy ICISS 12 As Miller points out the autonomy of nation states is threatened by intervention 1995 77 79 The defense of norms such as self determination and sovereignty can be found in Walzer s works He argues that the idea of communal integrity derives its moral and political force from the rights of contemporary men and women to live as members of a historic community and to express their inherited culture through political forms worked out among themselves Walzer 1980 211 Communal integrity must not be affected by external actions No one can intervene in the affairs of the state which is regarded as a representation of common values and norms of community Outsiders should respect the will and the right of people to build the government they call their own with no foreign help Walzer 1980 226 The idea of community interest was criticised by Teson Society where one group majority or minority s maltreatment is beneficial to another is obviously lacking community interest And sufferers are more likely to receive foreign help rather than refuse it Teson 2001 21


 Another strong argument can be found in works of Beitz 1980 385 and McMhan 1986 33 who claim that in some cases one community within a state can be oppressed while another one be highly protected by government In these cases when one group s opinion is taken into consideration and the others s is ignored communal integrity is destabilised Let me now consider the cases when sovereignty can be dissolved According Walzer outsiders know little about the domestic affairs of another state and are not in position to judge whether there is a fit between government and the people or whether government is legitimate or not Walzer 1980 212 216 This idea of foreigner s non awareness was opposed by Luban in The Romance of the Nation State saying that there are people in academia who are studying different cultures even far flung ones people travelling all around the world and experts of particular societies So before taking any actions political and socio cultural aspects of different communities can be examined Luban 1980 395 According to Simon Caney fit can be also measured by UN by researching domestic affairs in a country Caney 2005 237


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