ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book focuses on the nature of the humanitarian crises and conflicts themselves that precipitate interventions. It suggests that a conflict intensity abatement index to show what has become conventional wisdom in international politics that a successful de-escalation of a conflict is affected by the maturity of the conflict or crisis, the timing of the intervention, its nature and the extent of the commitment. The book shows that how the consequences of action by an intervenor who favours one side in a dispute over another may just as easily escalate the conflict as de-escalate it, depending on the response to the biased intervention by the non-favoured combatant. The Kosovo and Sri Lanka cases show how international institutions and legal arguments are either disregarded or manipulated to suit the specific purposes of the primary actors.
