Institut for Statskundskab

This chapter examines the resort to humanitarian intervention in the unfolding post-hegemonic, multipolar and regionalized world order with Libya, Côte d’Ivoire, Syria and Mali as the main cases. It argues that humanitarian crisis management at the United Nations Security Council is shaped by the underlying fundamental institution of great power management and the associated practices of concert, soft balancing and hard balancing, which are back as real options after the end of US hegemony. Furthermore, there is strong evidence that great power agreement on humanitarian intervention and the legitimacy of such steps depends on the initiatives and involvement of regional organizations. In the African context, the regional organizations typically seek to align humanitarian principles with concerns for state building. This indicates that humanitarian intervention has become post-hegemonic, rather than obsolete.