The Ethics of Humanitarian Intervention by Parry, Jonathan;

Short description:

The Ethics of Humanitarian Intervention: An Introduction offers a guide to the ethical debates surrounding armed humanitarian intervention. It is ideal reading for students and researchers in philosophy, applied ethics, politics and international relations.

Long description:

Few topics generate as much controversy and debate as armed humanitarian intervention. Military force involves death and destruction, as well as interfering in other countries’ domestic affairs. But, crucially, non-intervention is also controversial. When confronted with humanitarian crises abroad, many feel that outsiders are not only justified in using force to halt the abuses, but that they must do so. The Ethics of Humanitarian Intervention: An Introduction offers a guide to these ethical debates.

In clear and informative style Jonathan Parry explores the following topics:

• The morality of defending others, including the ‘responsibility to protect’ (R2P).


• State sovereignty and self-determination as barriers to intervention.


• The possibility of consensual intervention.


• Just causes for intervention: what kinds of human rights abuses warrant intervention?


• The effectiveness of intervention: does it work in practice?


• Alternatives to intervention, including aiding rebels, economic sanctions, and providing aid.


• Whether there is a duty to intervene.

Examples of intervention – including the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Liberia, and Libya – are used to illustrate the ethical dilemmas in question. The arguments of important theorists of intervention, such as John Stuart Mill, Michael Walzer and Jeff McMahan, are also explained clearly and critically. Each chapter concludes with questions for discussion and reflection. The Ethics of Humanitarian Intervention: An Introduction is ideal reading for students and researchers in philosophy, applied ethics, politics and international relations.

Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

"This superb book offers not only an excellent, accessible, and comprehensive introduction to key issues in the ethics of intervention, but also important original analysis of those issues. The discussion throughout is admirably clear, engaging, and incisive. The result is a first-rate textbook that is also a valuable contribution to research on the ethics of war and peace." - Helen Frowe, Stockholm University, Sweden

"In this important book, Jonathan Parry tackles the thorny issue of the ethics of armed humanitarian intervention. The result is an insightful read that covers the key issues in a comprehensive manner, all the while remaining accessible throughout. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the ethics of intervention, including political scientists, International Relations scholars, and philosophers." - Rita Floyd, University of Birmingham, UK

"A fantastic book! Parry has done a terrific job in exploring the ethics of humanitarian intervention in a careful, precise, and thorough manner. The writing is clear and easy to follow. The chapters are detailed and cover the main challenges surrounding humanitarian intervention interestingly and diligently." - James Pattison, University of Manchester, UK

"This book is an admirable, opinionated summary of contemporary discussions of the ethics of armed humanitarian intervention. Parry makes some original arguments while charitably discussing key scholars and their views. I recommend it to advanced students and scholars alike." - Eamon Aloyo, Leiden University, The Netherlands

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction  2. The Interference Objection  3. Intervention and Consent  4. Just Cause for Intervention  5. Intervention and Effectiveness  6. Alternatives to Military Intervention: Supporting Rebels  7. Alternatives to Military Intervention: Economic Sanctions  8. Alternatives to Military Intervention: Refuge and Aid  9. The Duty to Intervene