The Vexing Problem of Authority in Humanitarian Intervention: A Proposal

As is well known, the doctrine of humanitarian intervention raises a host of thorny issues: the threshold for intervention, the question of proportionality, the problem of last resort, the dilemma of whether or not to codify standards and procedures, and so forth. In this paper I will not address those issues; crucial and controversial as they are; I will assume that they have been somehow settled. I will also assume that it is desirable to find alternatives to unilateral intervention. The question, then, becomes this: who should authorize humanitarian intervention? Any acceptable authorizing procedure must avoid over-intervention and abuse on the one hand, and under-intervention and inertia on the other. That is a daunting challenge in institutional design. Recent experiences show that both dangers are real, and, alas, the victims of such failures will be flesh and blood human beings, often the most vulnerable