The shift towards caution: the changing landscape of humanitarian ınterventions within the UN Security Council (1990-2020)
CAMBRIDGE REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1080/09557571.2026.2706071
- Dergi Adı: CAMBRIDGE REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Index Islamicus, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Political Science Abstract (IPSA), Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Sociology Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This article examines how and why the UNSC and individual states' willingness to use coercive military intervention in humanitarian crises has changed between 1990 and 2020. The 1990-2003 period - often described as the 'golden age' of humanitarian intervention - was marked by increasing challenges to the norm of non-interference and a decline in the use of vetoes by the permanent members of the UNSC on humanitarian issues. However, this trend began to lose momentum and state interests in intervening in humanitarian crises have changed significantly over the past two decades. Drawing on a systematic comparative analysis of eight cases, the study traces how this transformation is reflected in UNSC practice and state positioning and shows that, since the early 2000s, UNSC and individual states have become less willing, more cautious, and more selective regarding military intervention in humanitarian crises. The article argues that an important driver of this growing caution is an endogenous feature of humanitarian intervention: its perceived susceptibility to abuse. The initial signs of this rupture emerged in the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq War, and the 2011 Libya intervention marked a critical turning point that further deepened caution and reversed the momentum of humanitarian interventionism.