ABSTRACT
The impact of violent escalation of societal conflicts is felt worldwide through the increasing economic, political, ecological and military interdependence that is evidenced by the global market for goods and services and phenomena such as climate change, migration, dismantling of democratic institutions and proliferation of small arms and weapons of mass destruction. As a result, the rule of ‘non-intervention’ in intra-state conflicts is giving way to the principle of legitimate intervention, and especially international governmental and non-governmental associations that have taken on security and peace policy tasks are called upon to intervene and settle conflicts. The opportunity to respond to this challenge was broadened when the division into spheres of interest and the resulting blocking manoeuvres by member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact in the United Nations (UN) Security Council came to an end.
