The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention: Genocide in Rwanda [Paperback]

Alan J. Kuperman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001

In 1994 genocide in Rwanda claimed the lives of at least 500,000 Tutsisome three-quarters of their populationwhile UN peacekeepers were withdrawn and the rest of the world stood aside. Ever since, it has been argued that a small military intervention could have prevented most of the killing. In The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention, Alan J. Kuperman exposes such conventional wisdom as myth. Combining unprecedented analyses of the genocides progression and the logistical limitations of humanitarian military intervention, Kuperman reaches a startling conclusion: even if Western leaders had ordered an intervention as soon as they became aware of a nationwide genocide in Rwanda, the intervention forces would have arrived too late to save more than a quarter of the 500,000 Tutsi ultimately killed. Serving as a cautionary message about the limits of humanitarian intervention, the books concluding chapters address lessons for the future.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alan J. Kuperman is a resident fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and a fellow of the U.S. Institute of Peace. He was previously a research fellow at the Brookings Institution. He has written numerous articles on ethnic conflict and humanitarian intervention in publications such as Foreign Affairs, Political Science Quarterly, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815700857
• ISBN-13: 978-0815700852
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #885,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An Apologia for Non-Intervention, October 21, 2003

By 

Dr. Gregory Stanton (McLean, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention: Genocide in Rwanda (Paperback)

Alan Kuperman purports to stick to "the facts." But the fact is that he ignores them:
He assumes that the only effective intervention in Rwanda would have been an airlift of U.S. troops from the continental United States, and then calculates that intervention would have taken too much time to be effective. In fact, 2500 UNAMIR peacekeeping troops were already on the ground in Rwanda, with over 5,000 French, Belgian, and U.S. troops in neighboring countries, and the French and Belgians had their troops in Rwanda within a week of the beginning of the genocide, but only to extract their own citizens. As Linda Melvern proves in her much better book, A People Betrayed, what was needed was the revised U.N. Security Council mandate for UNAMIR and the reinforcements the courageous UNAMIR commander, Gen. Romeo Dallaire requested.
Mr. Kuperman also assumes as fact that President Clinton did not know about the genocide until weeks after it began. In fact, despite efforts by lawyers in the State Department to avoid calling it genocide, U.S. diplomats in Rwanda called it genocide the day after the killing began, and Pres. Clinton knew it within the first week.
The failure of the U.N., U.S., France, and others who could have intervened to prevent and then stop this preventable genocide was a failure of political will and moral empathy. Mr. Kuperman's attempt to excuse it as militarily and logistically impossible to stop may let the policy makers responsible for this colossal failure sleep more peacefully. But for the murdered people of Rwanda, his excuses provide little solace.
Dr. Gregory Stanton
President, Genocide Watch

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rave Reviews, September 8, 2004

By 

Publisher - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention: Genocide in Rwanda (Paperback)

Here's a sampling of published reviews:

"Essential if dispiriting reading for the tender-hearted and tough-minded alike."
- Foreign Affairs, Nov/Dec 2001

"A detailed, thorough, and compelling analysis."
- Harvard International Law Journal, Summer 2002

"Hard-hitting and authoritative account . . . highly recommended"
- American Society of International Law, Jan 2002

"Thorough, succinct, analytically innovative, and refreshingly unbiased."
- Marine Corps Gazette, March 2003

5 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read for the lay person, February 4, 2002

By 

Ruby (Wintersville, OH, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention: Genocide in Rwanda (Paperback)

Ever wondered how to decide whether to intervene in a genocide?

This book lays out the obstacles that would have had to have been overcome to avert the wholesale slaughter in Rwanda, a genocide that was largely completed in a matter of weeks.

As a lay person and concerned citizen about U.S. intervention policies in other countries, I am relieved to find a book that analyzed the issues in an clear, unbiased fashion.

Kuperman briefly but cogently outlines various considerations including geography, culture, and history in a practical, behind-the-scenes manner that makes a complicated situation better understood, even for those outside government and policy think tanks.

Highly recommended for any reader interested in humanitarian aid.