Is intervention humanitarian? : protecting human rights and democracy abroad

Humanitarian intervention raises many questions. Spreading democracy is often cited as a goal of such intervention, but what is meant by democracy is anything but clear. Just as uncertain is the question of how to achieve democracy. Typically it is easier to begin an act of intervention than to conclude one. In the case of East Timor, a UN-initiated action has resulted in a new state now being left to make it on its own. So far the US has played an overwhelmingly large role in interventions abroad. A view from outside the US, and another from inside, considers under what circumstances the US is likely to intervene abroad for humanitarian purposes, and whether these circumstances are likely to appear in the near future. The interdisciplinary symposium and the production of this book has been generously supported by the Swedish Emergency Management Agency.