ABSTRACT
The value of this Westphalian system of security rests on the assumption that sovereign states are the best guardians of human security. The challenge for security studies is to explore how best to respond when sovereign states are unable to protect their citizens from genocide, mass killing or ethnic cleansing or engage in these practices themselves. This is no idle puzzle, nor is it a peripheral problem for the Westphalian system of security. According to one study, in the twentieth century alone some 262 million people were killed by their own government. This figure is six times greater than the number of people killed in battle by foreign governments during the same period (Rummel 1994). Most recently, the Sudanese government and its Janjawiid militia have been responsible for the killing of at least 250,000 and forced displacement of over two million Darfuri civilians. This is just the latest in a string of recent cases of killing conducted, sponsored or acquiesced in by the host government. Other recent cases include mass killing in East Timor and the Balkans and the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which approximately 1 million people were slaughtered in 100 days. Should states lose their sovereign rights in such circumstances and be subject to legitimate humanitarian intervention? Do other states have a duty to do whatever is necessary to protect imperilled people in distant lands?
