Conditions for change in the norms governing humanitarian intervention: National interest, human rights, and justifiability of intervention

The purpose of this study is to explain the shift which occurred in the 1990s in the previously cardinal norm of non-interference by specifying conditions under which humanitarian intervention is most likely to occur. It is argued that humanitarian intervention occurs when both ethical and power-political interests are present, but the following behavioral patterns are identified:; First, the combination of ethical and “stability” (containment) interests is the basis of peace support, while the combination of humanitarian and “status” (reputational and hegemonic) interests is the basis of more coercive forms of intervention. Within this basic pattern of interaction, the relative salience of power-political factors will depend upon the perceived cost-effectiveness of intervention: the greater the perceived cost is relative to the benefit of intervention, the more salient power-political interests must be relative to humanitarian interests; if the expected benefit is high relative to cost, there are less salient power-political factors involved.; Second, reputational interests make humanitarian intervention more coercive by transforming a humanitarian interest into a status interest. Humanitarian interests are important enough for Western democracies and thus create a political accountability where the interveners' reputation becomes dependent on their humanitarian performances. Attempts to maintain reputation dissolve the fundamental trade-off between humanitarian and strategic interests. Failure to do so results in reputation creep.; Third, humanitarian intervention becomes more coercive if hegemonic (global or regional) interests are involved. Hegemons are more prone to escalate military involvement not only because of their preponderance in material capabilities but also because they are more susceptible to the pressure to succeed, and it is more important for hegemonic powers to maintain their moral-political and especially strategic reputations to maintain their hegemonic status.