In spite of criticisms of military intervention, such measures can free populations from dictatorships and abusive governments.
The protection of human rights from terrorist threats and the counterterrorism efforts that follow need to be in accordance with human rights standards in order to maintain legitimacy.
A pragmatic approach to Just War Theory is necessary where jus ad bellum is changing, and the blurring of real world situations makes it difficult to decide where jus ad bellum justice lies.
The current human rights framework, while tackling sexual rights, fails to take local contexts into account, thus increasing discrimination and limiting the impact of local activists.
While human rights do challenge state sovereignty, they do so mainly at the conceptual level. In practice their capacity to interfere with states’ domestic affairs is severely limited.
The centuries-old mercenary profession lives on in the modern era, and the current use of private military contractors, while at unprecedented levels, does not signify a new type of war.
Although “humanitarian interventions” have been undertaken in the post-Cold War era, most were not purely humanitarian-oriented, but driven by states’ national interests.
The moral standing and credibility of the US and UK have weakened following Iraq, thus negatively impacting their ability to build international commitment to the R2P principle.
The nuclear proliferation by non-signatories to the NPT, coupled with the decline in US status and rise of Asian military power, has increased tensions surrounding the nuclear debate.
Climate change will impact population movement, with rising sea levels, droughts, desertification and flooding set to displace millions of people.
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