Year: 2002
Type: article
Abstract: ince the end of the Cold War, the use of military force in international relations has entered new moral and political territory.Increasingly, the humanitarian and human rights components of international law have emerged as a reason for the use of force. 1 Although humanitarian and human rights law experienced a considerable expansion after World War II, the filter of the Cold War rivalry largely blocked intervention based on it.Since the end of the Cold War (most clearly in Kosovo) major powers have shown a willingness to use force in the name of human rights and humanitarian concerns which trumps or overshadows more traditional understandings of the sovereign right of states over their internal affairs.To what degree are we witnessing a genuine shift in the moral and political understanding of states and their relationships to their own citizens?Are we indeed witnessing the birth of a "new world order"?Will a universal understanding of human rights form the basis of a successor to the Westphalian system, which purchased international stability at the price of the religious liberties of individuals and established state sovereignty as the cornerstone of international affairs?Is the post-World War II promise that "never again" would the world stand by while massive violations of human rights occur about to be fulfilled?Alternatively, perhaps we are experiencing a passing moment of misguided international moralism.Perhaps it soon will become abundantly clear that the so-called "international community" lacks both the will and the means to make such modifications to the practice of international relations.Unless and until there is an effective international authority with the military means to act
Author: Martin L. Cook
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4231609751