Muscular humanitarianism: reading the narratives of the new interventionism

Abstract

As a result of the decision by NATO to use force in response to the Kosovo crisis, issues about the legality and morality of humanitarian intervention have again begun to dominate the international legal agenda. This article explores the ways in which international legal texts about intervention operate at the ideological or representational level. It draws on feminist and post-colonial theories of subjectivity and identification to suggest that the desire to intervene militarily in cases of crisis is a product of the deeper narratives and flows of meaning within which texts about intervention are inserted. The narratives of the new interventionism create a powerful sense of self for those who identify with the hero of the story, be that the international community, the Security Council, NATO or the United States. As a result, these narratives operate not only in the realm of state systems, rationality and facts, but also in the realm of identification, imagination, subjectivity and emotion. The article explores some of the implications for international lawyers of the recognition that their arguments about intervention have effects at this personal and subjective level.

From humanitarian exceptionalism to contingent care: Care and enforcement at the humanitarian border

“…As the above discussed authors illustrate, humanitarian policies and practices aimed at alleviating human suffering and preserving biological life are deeply political and are used to justify various forms of symbolic and physical violence (see also , Hua 2011;Mohanty, 1988;Orford, 1999Orford, , 2003Ticktin, 2011;Williams 2011). While humanitarianism has long been the handmaiden of imperialist and militarized interventions (Abu Lughod 2002; Barnett and Weiss 2008;Spivak 1988), the humanitarianization of borders and border enforcement efforts is a relatively new phenomenon linked to rise of more restrictive and violent enforcement regimes (Walters, 2010;Williams 2014).…”

Kony 2012: Intervention Narratives and the Saviour Subject

“…These types of messages ensure that the emotional and affective sentiment is captured and internalised by participants (Conradson and McKay 2007). As this illustrates, the construction of activists as heroes relies on the savages, victims and saviours metaphor, as the passive victim in the narrative reaffirms the importance of those who identify as a heroic figure (Orford 1999). These narratives augment biographies of caring and help relieve the 'white girl's burden', or equally the 'white man's burden' (Izama 2012a), of affluent consumer activists residing in the developed world (Finnegan 2013).…”

“…This is particularly troublesome as the rule of law narrative and the legitimising force of international criminal justice is increasingly being used alongside military intervention. While it may not be a new phenomenon, the merging of both military action and international law, defined as 'muscular humanitarianism', is intensifying and increasing and is operating under the rubric of the responsibility to protect (Orford 1999(Orford , 2011. The Kony 2012 Campaign bolstered these narratives by urging US military intervention in Uganda to catch Joseph Kony and support the ICC's attempt to prosecute Joseph Kony in The Hague.…”

International Law: A Discipline of Crisis

“…That pleasurable process allows the reader to imagine himself or herself to be on the side of the good and the just. 58 Orford has examined the enthusiasm for both military and monetary intervention since the end of the Cold War. She argues that '[t]he narratives of the new interventionism are premised on an image of international law and institutions as agents of freedom, order, democracy, liberalisation, transparency, humanitarianism and human rights'.…”