Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a general introduction to the responsibility to protect principle and its provenance. It outlines the challenges and possibilities posed by the principle’s grounding in the contentious concept of human security. The book demonstrates the particular usefulness of an Aristotelian understanding of human flourishing for ensuring the logical coherence of the chain of reasoning by drawing upon the work of Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen in the debate over the standards of legitimacy of international human rights. It examines the necessary features of a viable theory of intercultural judgement. The book explores the implications and opportunities that arise from the fact that this initial affirmation occurred in the absence of a clear and consistent definition of the concept of human security itself.