ABSTRACT
War and the threat of war shape lives across the world in all manner of direct and indirect ways". This chapter analyzes the phenomenon of war and addresses current trends with regard to the nature of wars and humanitarian interventions. It focuses on the changing nature of wars that led to the establishment of the term 'new wars' and identifies the distinctive features of these wars. The chapter examines the changes in the international response to new wars that bring to the fore of international policy agenda the notion of human rights and an associated 'new humanitarianism'. Western governments when faced with conflicts seem to demonstrate increasingly a sense of moral responsibility as well as readiness to intervene militarily in order to prevent 'humanitarian catastrophes'. A norm could be emerging, that of new military humanitarianism, based on the redefinition of the threats to international peace and security without, however, effective changes or even questioning of the present status quo.
