Over the centuries, societies have gradually developed constraints on the use of armed force in the conduct of foreign relations. The crowning achievement of these efforts occurred in the midtwentieth century with the general acceptance among the states of the world that the use of military force for territorial expansion was unacceptable. A central challenge for the twenty-first century rests in reconciling these constraints with the increasing desire to protect innocent persons from human rights deprivations that often take place during civil war or result from persecution by autocratic governments. Humanitarian Intervention is a detailed look at the historical development of constraints on the use of force and at incidents of humanitarian intervention prior to, during, and after the Cold War.
Introduction 1. Humanitarian Intervention: Preliminary Considerations 2. Humanitarian Intervention Prior to the UN Charter 3. The UN Charter: Origins and Text 4. Intervention During the Cold War (1945-89) 5. Incidents of Intervention After the Cold War 6. The United Nations and Humanitarian Intervention 7. Regional Organizations and Humanitarian Intervention 8. Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention Conclusion
Appendix. United Nations Documents Bibliography Index
