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The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention 1st Edition

by Rajan Menon (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
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With the end of the Cold War has come an upsurge in humanitarian interventions-military campaigns aimed at ending mass atrocities. These wars of rescue, waged in the name of ostensibly universal norms of human rights and legal principles, rest on the premise that a genuine "international community" has begun to emerge and has reached consensus on a procedure for eradicating mass killings. Rajan Menon argues that, in fact, humanitarian intervention remains deeply divisive as a concept and as a policy, and is flawed besides. The advocates of humanitarian intervention have produced a mountain of writings to support their claim that human rights precepts now exert an unprecedented influence on states' foreign policies and that we can therefore anticipate a comprehensive solution to mass atrocities.

In The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention, Menon shows that this belief, while noble, is naïve. States continue to act principally based on what they regard at any given time as their national interests. Delivering strangers from oppression ranks low on their list of priorities. Indeed, even democratic states routinely embrace governments that trample the human rights values on which the humanitarian intervention enterprise rests.

States' ethical commitment to waging war to end atrocities remains episodic and erratic-more rhetorical than real. And when these missions are undertaken, the strategies and means used invariably produce perverse, even dangerous results. This, in no small measure, stems from the hubris of leaders-and the acolytes of humanitarian intervention-who have come to believe that they possesses the wisdom and wherewithal to bestow freedom and stability upon societies about which they know little.
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  1. ISBN-10
    9780199384877
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0199384877
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    March 3, 2016
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.7 x 1.1 x 8.6 inches
  8. Print length
    250 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Menon brilliantly explicates the several fallacies of the interventionists, while at the same time keeping the door open for intervention in reaction to atrocities when geopolitical
forces are effectively aligned and the likely costs realistically taken into account." -- ID: International Dialogue, A Multidisciplinary Journal of World Affairs

"Menon's main point is that states have not changed their foreign policies since the Cold War. The primary determinant, he says, is whether intervention serves the states' interests. This explains, for instance, why the US intervened in Kosovo but not Syria. Although not a scholarly analysis of humanitarian intervention, the book is recommended as an accessible introduction to an important international relations issue." -- R. P. Peters, Univ. of Massachusetts / Harvard Univ. Davis Center, CHOICE

"Menon has written a very smart book that shows the difficulty of getting countries to engage in humanitarian interventions, much less do them right. He also makes clear that the advocates of intervention do not lack for hubris, but do lack an understanding of the limits of the enterprise. Sadly, this sobering book leaves us with little hope that the so-called international community can do much to prevent the mass slaughter of innocent people."
--John J. Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago

"It's hard to imagine a more complete demolition of the idea that there is, or should be, a legal norm in favor of humanitarian military intervention to stop atrocities. The only relevant law is, as Menon demonstrates, the law of unintended consequences."
--Eric Posner, Kirkland and Ellis Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Arthur and Esther Kane Research Chair, University of Chicago

"This is an immensely admirable book - concise, lucid, and above all tough-minded. Proponents of humanitarian intervention will find Rajan Menon's stinging critique discomfiting - which is precisely why it merits their considered attention."
--Andrew J. Bacevich, Professor Emeritus of History and International Relations, Boston University

"There is such a thing as a problem - even a "problem from hell" - to which there is no solution. In showing that outrage against bloody atrocity almost never justifies a military response, Rajan Menon achieves the best available critique of humanitarian intervention ever written. Careful, dispassionate, and methodical, The Conceit of Intervention is most of all a debate with those who would wish away tragedy - especially the tragedy of lacking solutions, even when the problem is compelling - in the persistently self-interested domain of international affairs. A must-read."
--Samuel Moyn, Professor of Law and History, Harvard University

"Richly documented and persuasive...The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention is an excellent guide for policy-makers, and for anyone participating in the policy discussion, the next time a situation arises in which talk begins about using military force to save lives."
--Paul R. Pillar, LobeLog

"[This] book serves as a sharp shot across the bow to those who urge the further entrenchment of - and who believe in the inevitability of - a deep, consistent policy of humanitarian intervention in all situations of mass atrocities."
--New Rambler Review

Book Description

An eye-opening critique of armed military interventions.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0199384878
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (March 3, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 250 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780199384877
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199384877
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.7 x 1.1 x 8.6 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

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Rajan Menon

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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Victoria Mashburn
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing and Realistic
    Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I would recommend this product to anyone wanting to know the truth about international relations in terms of humanitarian intervention. The realist approach brings a refreshing, sensible look at the concept.
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  • Graham E. Fuller
    5.0 out of 5 stars An important new critique of ideological thinking in US foreign policy
    Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2016
    Rajan Menon’s new book, “The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention,” launches a timely and compelling argument against a dominant line of thought lying behind so much of modern American foreign policy—“humanitarian intervention” or “liberal interventionism.”  We are, of course, well familiar with Republican and neocon readiness to go to war, but the reality is that many Democrat Party leaders have been no less seduced into a series of optional foreign military interventions, with increasingly disastrous consequences. Hillary Clinton is today one of the leading exponents of the idea, but so are many of the advisors around President Obama.

    Menon’s book constitutes essential reading for anyone troubled by the ugly character of so much of the international scene these days, and yet dismayed by its exploitation by policy-makers who cloak invasion, power projections and military operations in the garb of humanitarian effort. Here is a cogent critique of the recent decades of US foreign policy misadventures in which our military has become the primary instrument of US policy—and justified in the name of humanitarian goals. We rarely get to hear these arguments so clearly presented. 

    In rejecting the premise of “liberal interventionism” Menon is not exercising some hard-minded, bloodless vision of policy—quite the opposite. He is deeply concerned for the wellbeing of peoples and societies abroad—who are often among the primary victims of such liberal interventionism. He argues not as an isolationist but rather as an observer who has watched so many seemingly well-minded interventions turn into horror stories for the citizens involved.

    The title of the book, “The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention,” suggests that at the very least such policies are self-deceiving, in other cases perhaps deliberately meant to obfuscate. Menon here poses the question whether, for whatever motivation, great powers can ever sufficiently master the complexity of foreign societies to truly engineer a better life in the countries we target for remodeling. And whether we can afford to undertake an enterprise that requires deep hands-on involvement and might take decades to achieve— at the least. 

    Any reader of the book is eventually forced to confront a deeper question: when is war in fact “worth it”? Few would respond “never,” but many might respond “rarely.” Yet Menon is not arguing against war as such, so much as forcing us to acknowledge the faulty “liberal” foundation of our relentless quest for enemies to destroy—in the name of making the world a better place. An important and fresh insight into the policy confusions of our time.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • OL
    5.0 out of 5 stars Finely researched, honest, and hard-hitting – can make a great textbook
    Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2016
    With a historian’s scrupulousness, Menon draws on lessons of humanitarian interventions -- from the Ottoman Empire to East Pakistan, Cambodia, Rwanda, Kosovo, Bosnia, Darfur, and Syria -- to call into question “cosmopolitan sentiment” and “ethical commitment” often used to justify such interventions.

    Menon shrewdly exposes the hypocrisy of humanitarian interventions by showing that states only intervene to save people in other countries with their practical goals in mind; and if such intervention would compromise national (read: economic) interest, they would, at best, issue a public condemnation of mass murder. To that end, Menon cautions against selective use of humanitarian interventions, lest they create opposite effect: mistrust and cynicism of “rescued” people, and worse yet, increased violence by the perpetrators.

    To further prove his point, Mennon provides numerous examples when advanced democracies turned a blind eye to the atrocities committed in other countries, and continued to do business with – and openly support – dictators, who under different circumstances (read: in weaker countries) would have been good targets for deposition and invocation of R2P.

    Make no mistake – this book is NOT against humanitarian interventions as a way for the concerned international community to stop mass-killings and protect human rights. Instead, Menon urges the interventionists and cosmopolitans to carefully consider the price innocents pay from unintended (and ill-intended) consequences of such humanitarian pursuits, and put their money where their mouths are – if they are indeed concerned with the preservation of human lives in other countries, deeper commitment and allocation of all necessary resources should follow.

    This book is highly relevant for policy-makers, NGOs, government officials, academics, political activists, students, and other responsible citizens.

    You won’t find any conspiracy theories, rumors, or hidden agendas here – it is a sensible analysis of historical facts, presented in the clear, concise, and engaging manner.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Mr.Fleming
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great Read!
    Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2017
    Rajan Menon is a famous realist and democrat that is passionate about world affairs and morality. In the Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention he talks about how countries only intervene in other countries when their political status is at stake and not for the sake of the people's lives who are being taken. To support his statement he gives numerous accounts of times the United States has not helped other countries like Holodomor (Terror Famine) and ethnic cleansing, or in Rwanda. This book will appeal to anyone liberal that opposes his view on humanitarian intervention and any spirited democrat that passionately speaks about world affairs through the scope of the United States.
    One person found this helpful
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