TY - BOOK
T1 - National Interest Versus Solidarity
T2 - Particular and Universal Ethics in International Life
AU - Wheeler, Nicholas
AU - Coicaud, Jean-Marc
N1 - Wheeler, Nicholas, Coicaud, Jean-Marc, (eds) National Interest Versus Solidarity: Particular and Universal Ethics in International Life (Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 2008)
What this book is about:
Although this book originated from the issue of humanitarian intervention,
it was never meant to be limited to that. Rather, from the outset
the idea was to examine the relevance of the debates (arguments and counter-arguments) generated by the question of humanitarian intervention
at a more general level. Extrapolating the discussions around humanitarian
intervention to a broader international environment, the aim
was to gain a better understanding of the motivations of actors who intervene
in areas of crisis, and their evolution. Being understood, also, that
intervening actors are usually from the top echelons of the international
hierarchy of power, and that the areas where the interventions take place
tend to be at the weaker end of the international distribution of power.
It is in this perspective that the extent to which national interest and
internationalist, or solidarity, considerations enter actors’ rationale to
get involved in international crises became a primary concern of the editors
of and contributors to this book. Focusing on crises in the context of
which it is not obvious from a traditional national-interest point of view
why international actors would choose to intervene, or how committed
they are to solving the crises, the goal was to evaluate the respective
weights of national interest (including security) on the one hand and internationalist
(solidarity) considerations on the other.
Since they are part of the framework of analysis, it may be helpful to
first clarify what is, by and large, meant in this book by the notions of
national interest, solidarity in general and solidarity at the international
level, especially in relation to democratic values.
PY - 2008/12/21
Y1 - 2008/12/21
N2 - This book has its origin in the intellectual and political climate of the 1990s, in the geopolitical and normative changes that followed the end of the Cold War. 1 During this period, humanitarian interventions in particular became one of the key features of international and multilaterallife, and the analysis of their motivation and implementation the topic ofheated debates. Few were left indifferent to the suffering of millions of people, which international interventions were meant to alleviate. Yet, since helping meant challenging the mainstream conception of international order –a conception associated with the traditional and somewhat narrow understanding of the principle of national sovereignty (entailing noninterferencein the internal affairs of other states) and of national interest– the issue of humanitarian intervention came to divide policymakers, academia and public opinion. Taking a clear and well-thought-out standon humanitarian intervention, weighing the positive against the negative aspects, proved to be a demanding exercise.
AB - This book has its origin in the intellectual and political climate of the 1990s, in the geopolitical and normative changes that followed the end of the Cold War. 1 During this period, humanitarian interventions in particular became one of the key features of international and multilaterallife, and the analysis of their motivation and implementation the topic ofheated debates. Few were left indifferent to the suffering of millions of people, which international interventions were meant to alleviate. Yet, since helping meant challenging the mainstream conception of international order –a conception associated with the traditional and somewhat narrow understanding of the principle of national sovereignty (entailing noninterferencein the internal affairs of other states) and of national interest– the issue of humanitarian intervention came to divide policymakers, academia and public opinion. Taking a clear and well-thought-out standon humanitarian intervention, weighing the positive against the negative aspects, proved to be a demanding exercise.
M3 - Book
SN - 9789280811476
BT - National Interest Versus Solidarity
PB - United Nations University Press
ER -