The Politics of International Humanitarian Aid Operations - by Eric Belgrad & Nitza Nachmias (Hardcover)

About the Book

The theories and case studies examined in this volume constitute a thorough study of foreign intervention in civil conflicts for the purpose of rendering humanitarian aid. The classical paradigm of the ethics of intervention forbids the violation of territorial sovereignty. Public international law and the UN charter also mandate nonintervention within the territorial boundaries of a state. Nevertheless, in recent years, as a result of brutal civil conflicts and their violent and inhumane consequences--as in Rwanda, Bosnia, and Cambodia--international aid interventions have become an accepted practice. Still, international humanitarian aid involves unsettled, controversial issues--dilemmas concerning donors, recipients, and international organizations. These issues, as well as the concepts of sovereignty, human rights, coercive interventions, and peacekeeping, are critically evaluated in this volume, which will be of interest to scholars and policymakers in international relations, human rights, and military affairs.

Book Synopsis

The theories and case studies examined in this volume constitute a thorough study of foreign intervention in civil conflicts for the purpose of rendering humanitarian aid. The classical paradigm of the ethics of intervention forbids the violation of territorial sovereignty. Public international law and the UN charter also mandate nonintervention within the territorial boundaries of a state. Nevertheless, in recent years, as a result of brutal civil conflicts and their violent and inhumane consequences--as in Rwanda, Bosnia, and Cambodia--international aid interventions have become an accepted practice. Still, international humanitarian aid involves unsettled, controversial issues--dilemmas concerning donors, recipients, and international organizations. These issues, as well as the concepts of sovereignty, human rights, coercive interventions, and peacekeeping, are critically evaluated in this volume, which will be of interest to scholars and policymakers in international relations, human rights, and military affairs.

About the Author

ERIC A. BELGRAD is Professor and Chairman in the Department of Political Science at Towson State University in Maryland.

NITZA NACHMIAS is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Haifa in Israel.