engagement with humanitarianism in a much broader sense, can be brought back
later in the thesis.
1. International Political Theory’s Core Concerns
Chris Brown has plausibly described contemporary international political theory as
revolving around three core concerns: sovereignty, rights and justice.^106 While his
characterisation is not meant to be exhaustive, the ease with which the key
contributions to international political theory of figures like Walzer, Beitz or John
Rawls can be articulated in response to these concerns is significant. Arguably, the
rich examination of these three concerns has come at the expense of a substantive
engagement with humanitarianism as such.
Most explicit discussions of humanitarianism within international political
theory take place in the context of debates on the specific practice of humanitarian
intervention, to the extent that “humanitarianism” and “humanitarian intervention”
are sometimes used interchangeably.^107 Humanitarian intervention has been a
defining trope of post-Cold War international political theory discussions, spawning
a vast literature which continues to expand and embraces new debates such as that
on the doctrine of the “Responsibility to Protect”. The relevant understanding of
the term humanitarian intervention has been defined by J. L. Holzgrefe as
the threat or use of force across state borders by a state (or group of states)
aimed at preventing or ending widespread and grave violations of the
fundamental human rights of individuals other than its own citizens, without
the permission of the state within whose territory force is applied.^108This widely cited definition accurately summarises the kind of humanitarian
intervention at stake for key authors such as Michael Walzer or Nicholas Wheeler. It
106
107 Brown, Sovereignty, Rights and Justice.
See for example the chapter on humanitarian intervention in Simon Caney, Justice
Beyond Borders: A Global Political Theory 108 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 226-262.
J. L. Holzgrefe, "The Humanitarian Intervention Debate", in Humanitarian Intervention:
Ethical, Legal and Political Dilemmas , ed. J. L. Holzgrefe and Robert O. Keohane (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2003), 19.