A large portion of the literature that deals with the evolution of the R2P focuses on the principle’s progression from the ICISS report to the HLP report, the Secretary-General’s report and ultimately the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document. This thesis provides a discussion of the main events and arguments that have influenced the debate around the R2P and the principle’s evolution, namely, the war on terror and the 2003 war in Iraq, the crisis in Darfur, and lastly, U.N. Security Council buy-in regarding the ICISS articulated criteria to guide the use of military force in humanitarian intervention. The thesis is divided into three sections, the first providing a conceptual background to humanitarian intervention. The second part shifts the discussion to the ICISS and the R2P, and the final section focuses on the main factors that have influenced the principle’s evolution. A central theme underlying the reason for the undertaking of this thesis is the claim that the international system is experiencing a change in the writers/authors of the rules of the system. The argument is built by using the abovementioned main factors influencing the R2P’s evolution as evidence – the central assertion being that the war in Iraq has weakened the moral standing of the U.S. and the U.K., and has negatively impacted on the credibility of these states as norm carriers. This has not only diminished their ability to build consensus on and commitment to the R2P, but has also engendered widespread hostility and suspicion towards the principle. The result is an international endorsement of the R2P that is substantially different from its initial emergence in the ICISS report, which by many accounts lacks much of the substance which would have enabled a decisive response from the international society to situations where such action is needed most.
Table of Contents
3. INTRODUCTION
4. BACKGROUND TO HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION
4.1 Meaning and Definition of Intervention
4.2 The Concept of Humanitarian Intervention
4.3 Humanitarian Intervention and the U.N. Charter
5. THE ICISS AND THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT
5.1 Past Failures, the U.N. Secretary General’s Challenge and the Establishment of the ICISS
5.2 Francis Deng and the Concept of Sovereignty as Responsibility
5.3 The ICISS and Sovereignty as Responsibility
5.4 Core Principles of R2P
5.5 R2P Principles for Military Intervention
6. FROM THE ICISS REPORT TO THE 2005 WORLD SUMMIT: MAIN FACTORS INFLUENCING THE EVOLUTION OF THE R2P
6.1 The 2005 World Summit and R2P
6.2 The War on Terror and the 2003 War in Iraq
6.3 The Crisis in Darfur
6.4 The Problem of Security Council Buy-In
7. CONCLUSION
Research Objectives and Key Themes
This thesis examines the evolution of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle from its inception in the 2001 ICISS Report to its endorsement at the 2005 World Summit, analyzing how geopolitical events and institutional challenges have shaped its interpretation and application.
- The transition from "humanitarian intervention" to the "responsibility to protect" as a normative framework.
- The impact of the 2003 Iraq War on the credibility of R2P norm carriers.
- The role of the Darfur crisis as a reference point for debates regarding state sovereignty and collective action.
- The persistent difficulty of achieving Security Council consensus on intervention criteria.
Excerpt from the Book
The Concept of Humanitarian Intervention
The roots of the notion of humanitarian intervention by foreign states following the failure of a state to discharge its responsibility to its citizens can be traced to Hugo Grotius, writing in the 16th Century. Grotius asserted that a foreign state could support the citizens of another state in instances where the target state is engaged in repression of its citizens, who are in turn engaged in legitimate resistance to such repression. However, it is only after 1840 that the first references to humanitarian intervention emerged in international legal writing, and two interventions stand out as primarily responsible for this. The first was the 1827 British, French and Russian intervention in Greece to avert Turkish massacres and halt the suppression of peoples with ties to insurgents, and the second was the 1860 French intervention in Syria aimed at the protection of Maronite Christians. From the period 1827 – 1906, there were no fewer than five “prominent interventions undertaken by European powers against the Ottoman Empire,” and by the second decade of the 20th Century, the rationale underlying intervention had widened to “include the protection of nationals living abroad.”
Summary of Chapters
3. INTRODUCTION: Outlines the historical context of the ICISS report and defines the research scope regarding the evolution of R2P and the factors influencing its normative status.
4. BACKGROUND TO HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION: Provides a conceptual overview of intervention, its historical evolution, and the contentious legal debate surrounding humanitarian action within the framework of the U.N. Charter.
5. THE ICISS AND THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT: Examines the origins of R2P, the re-conceptualization of sovereignty as responsibility, and the core principles and military criteria established by the ICISS.
6. FROM THE ICISS REPORT TO THE 2005 WORLD SUMMIT: MAIN FACTORS INFLUENCING THE EVOLUTION OF THE R2P: Analyzes how the 2005 World Summit, the Iraq War, and the Darfur crisis fundamentally altered the R2P principle and hindered global consensus.
7. CONCLUSION: Synthesizes the findings, confirming that while R2P has been internationally embraced, its evolution has resulted in a watered-down version of the original framework, lacking the substance for decisive action.
Keywords
Responsibility to Protect, R2P, Humanitarian Intervention, Sovereignty as Responsibility, ICISS, 2005 World Summit, Security Council, Darfur, Iraq War, Human Rights, Non-intervention, Norm Carriers, Military Intervention, Collective Action, Global Governance
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
This thesis investigates the evolution of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle, tracking its development from the 2001 ICISS report to its adoption at the 2005 World Summit.
What are the central thematic fields?
The work covers humanitarian intervention, international law, state sovereignty, U.N. Security Council dynamics, and the impact of major geopolitical events like the Iraq War and the Darfur crisis on international norms.
What is the central research question?
The research explores how major events and shifting political power dynamics have influenced the evolution of R2P and why the principle has arguably been weakened in its application compared to its initial formulation.
Which methodology is employed?
The study utilizes a qualitative analysis of international reports, legal discourse, and political developments to evaluate the shifting normative landscape of humanitarian intervention.
What is covered in the main body?
The main body examines the historical background of humanitarian intervention, the formation of the ICISS, the conceptual shift toward "sovereignty as responsibility," and the subsequent influence of external factors like the Iraq War and the Darfur conflict on the R2P's adoption.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include R2P, Humanitarian Intervention, ICISS, Sovereignty as Responsibility, Security Council, and Norm Carriers.
What does the term "R2P Lite" imply in the context of this thesis?
It refers to the version of R2P endorsed at the 2005 World Summit, which is seen by scholars like Thomas Weiss as a "watered-down" interpretation that lacks the specific criteria for military intervention and veto reform originally proposed by the ICISS.
How did the war in Iraq affect the credibility of R2P?
The unauthorized use of humanitarian rhetoric to justify the 2003 Iraq War undermined the moral standing of norm carriers (the U.S. and U.K.) and fostered deep suspicion among nations in the global South regarding the legitimacy of R2P.
- Quote paper
- Nico Smit (Author), 2010, From the ICISS Report to the 2005 World Summit, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/210331
