Macfarlane Et Al’s View on the Case That Humanitarian Intervention Is an Unacceptable Assault on Sovereignty
MacFarlane et al’s View on the Case that Humanitarian Intervention is an Unacceptable Assault on Sovereignty
By Euan Brady For quite some time now the question of whether humanitarian intervention is an unacceptable assault on sovereignty has been at the top of the list of priority questions for international relations professors. In 2004 Neil MacFarlane, a professor of international relations, Carolin J Thielking, a doctoral candidate in international relations, and Thomas G Weiss, the director of the Ralph Bunch Institute for International Studies, gathered together to review the question of whether anyone cares about humanitarian intervention anymore. Central to their argument was the ‘responsibility to protect’ idea, and the effect of the Iraq war on humanitarian intervention. (MacFarlane et al, 2004, pp.977-992). This essay will focus on where MacFarlane et al stand on the issue of whether humanitarian intervention is just or not and why. Firstly this essay will focus on the ‘responsibility to protect’ idea and the different viewpoints on humanitarian intervention and where MacFarlane et al stand in the argument. Secondly MacFarlane et al’s argument on humanitarian intervention versus the war on terror will be outline and explored. The legitimacy of Americas involvement in Iraq and its effect on peoples view of humanitarian intervention will also be assessed in this paragraph. Thirdly the underlying problems associated with humanitarian intervention will be outlined. The direction that MacFarlane et al believe humanitarian intervention should be taken, in order to increase its legitimacy, will also be outlined in this paragraph. Lastly all the major points will be tied together in a final paragraph to draw up an appropriate conclusion. In order to understand MacFarlane et al’s stance on humanitarian intervention one must first understand the three different groups of thought associated with humanitarian intervention. However, in order to understand the
By Euan Brady For quite some time now the question of whether humanitarian intervention is an unacceptable assault on sovereignty has been at the top of the list of priority questions for international relations professors. In 2004 Neil MacFarlane, a professor of international relations, Carolin J Thielking, a doctoral candidate in international relations, and Thomas G Weiss, the director of the Ralph Bunch Institute for International Studies, gathered together to review the question of whether anyone cares about humanitarian intervention anymore. Central to their argument was the ‘responsibility to protect’ idea, and the effect of the Iraq war on humanitarian intervention. (MacFarlane et al, 2004, pp.977-992). This essay will focus on where MacFarlane et al stand on the issue of whether humanitarian intervention is just or not and why. Firstly this essay will focus on the ‘responsibility to protect’ idea and the different viewpoints on humanitarian intervention and where MacFarlane et al stand in the argument. Secondly MacFarlane et al’s argument on humanitarian intervention versus the war on terror will be outline and explored. The legitimacy of Americas involvement in Iraq and its effect on peoples view of humanitarian intervention will also be assessed in this paragraph. Thirdly the underlying problems associated with humanitarian intervention will be outlined. The direction that MacFarlane et al believe humanitarian intervention should be taken, in order to increase its legitimacy, will also be outlined in this paragraph. Lastly all the major points will be tied together in a final paragraph to draw up an appropriate conclusion. In order to understand MacFarlane et al’s stance on humanitarian intervention one must first understand the three different groups of thought associated with humanitarian intervention. However, in order to understand the
Bibliography: MacFarlane, Neil, Thielking, Carolin & Weiss, Thomas, (2004). ‘The Responsibility to Protect: is anyone interested in humanitarian intervention?’ in third world quarterly, vol. 25, no.5: 977-992.