ABSTRACT
During the Cold War, debates over humanitarian intervention often seemed detached from reality. Some moralists and jurists argued over the desirability or legitimacy of humanitarian intervention in international politics. This chapter proposes an analytical framework for this intrinsically knotty and complicated issue and attempt to make the logic intelligible. Liberalism has also had a significant effect on the contemporary norm of humanitarian intervention. As some realists critically argue, humanitarian intervention in US foreign policy after the Cold War may be seen as a manifestation of liberalism or Wilsonianism again on the march. While the principle of nonintervention was widely known and respected, some international jurists recognized some exceptions to that principle in favor of humanitarian intervention prior to 1945. Through examining the kinds of political factors that will affect the making and carrying out of decisions for humanitarian intervention, the chapter shows the limits and possibilities of such interventions.
