Journal article
Are Humanitarian Military Interventions Obligatory?
Journal of applied philosophy, Vol.25(2), pp.134-144
05/2008
DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5930.2008.00393.x
Abstract
I argue here that certain species of war, namely humanitarian military interventions (HMIs), can be obligatory within particular contexts. Specifically, I look at the notion of HMIs through the lens of just war theory and argue that when a minimal account of jus ad bellum implies that an intervention is permissible, it also implies that it is obligatory. I begin by clarifying the jus ad bellum conditions (such as just cause, right intentions, etc.) under which an intervention is permissible. I then turn to the claim that permissibility necessitates obligation, by first showing that whenever an intervention is permissible, it is also minimally decent. Second, I show that minimally decent actions are morally obligatory by arguing that the notion of minimal decency is a conceptual bridge between negative and positive duties. Third, I argue that performing minimally decent actions is necessary for a state to be just. Ultimately, my conclusion arises from the following observation: if a humanitarian crisis is bad enough for one to hold that it is permissible to breach sovereignty of a nation, then it is bad enough to hold that there is an obligation to intervene.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Are Humanitarian Military Interventions Obligatory?
- Creators
- Jovana Davidovic - University of Minnesota
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of applied philosophy, Vol.25(2), pp.134-144
- Publisher
- Blackwell
- DOI
- 10.1111/j.1468-5930.2008.00393.x
- ISSN
- 0264-3758
- eISSN
- 1468-5930
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 05/2008
- Academic Unit
- Philosophy; Law Faculty
- Record Identifier
- 9984397200802771
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