ABSTRACT
The political and military intervention policies of the Carter administration thus can be neither appraised nor understood appropriately without indicating their historical context. Intervention may take the form of military action by the intervening state, or overt or covert economic or political pressures. Since members of the international community are interdependent, the policies of many states automatically impinge on the foreign and domestic policies of other states. Despite numerous debates and ratification of treaties which attempt to spell out the circumstances under which intervention is either legal or illegal, the boundaries remain unclear and controversial. A variety of means have been used for interventions, ranging from direct military action, through various types of material assistance, to verbal admonitions and refusals to recognize a country diplomatically. Military interventions in particular have been disfavored because they run counter to the strong public opinion trends in favor of self-determination, and because they invite counterintervention which may then escalate into a major war.
