Who Should Intervene?

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to develop a novel account of how the duty to undertake humanitarian intervention should be assigned to states. It takes as its point of departure two worries about the best existing answer to this question, namely: (a) that it is insensitive to historical considerations, and (b) that its distribution is unfair. Against this background I propose that the duty to intervene should be assigned to states based on the strength of their claim to reject the burden of intervention. Specifically, I argue that the strength of such claims should be determined by ability to intervene effectively, adjusted for historical responsibility for the rights-violations taking place, and the extent to which their capacity for intervention derives from resources tainted by historical rights-violations. This approach, I will argue, can better accommodate the centrality of protecting the victims while also taking into account both historical and distributive concerns.

Supererogatory and obligatory rescues: Should we institutionalize the duty to intervene?

“…This strikes me as a crucial question, but we may need to ask more questions. For instance, we may want to know whether a particular agent bears any historical responsibility for the situation which necessitates intervention (Hjorthen, 2017). But regardless of who the best placed rescuer in any given case is, all other potential rescuers will, ipso facto , be less likely to be able to lead an appropriate intervention and will thus be in the position of Ben in Dangerous Beach with Casey: They are not permitted to intervene, unless, perhaps, they can be certain that the best placed rescuer will not do so, and will not respond to requests to do so.…”

Humanitarian Intervention and Burden-Sharing Justice

“…However, it seems implausible that the duty to intervene should be assigned based on historical responsibility alone. For discussion, see Hjorthen (2017a) and Pattison (2011: 217).…”

“…For discussion, see(Hjorthen, 2017a).14 A more complex definition of ability would include factors such as cost effectiveness, but for the present purposes it will suffice to consider the simple, resource-centred notion of ability.…”