National Interest and International Solidarity: Particular and Universal Ethics in International Life

Following the end of the cold war, the 1990s witnessed an intense period of geopolitical upheaval. Humanitarian intervention became an important tool for powerful nations and international coalitions trying to alter the course of unstable countries plunged into chaos. The motivations for these interventions and their implementation have generated heated policy debates ever since. This book has its origins in the intellectual and political climate of that time. The contributors analyze the arguments and counterarguments used in the debates over humanitarian intervention, then extrapolate their findings to a broader international context. In short, the book assesses the extent to which national interest and internationalist considerations enter into the rationale for actors to get involved in international crises.