| This thesis considers the issue of military humanitarian intervention through an exploration of the moral and legal aspects of human rights. It presents a critique of Jurgen Habermas's discussion of human rights as fundamentally legal, claiming that this excessively displaces their moral aspect, thereby failing to sufficiently thematize duty and the moral resource of conscience. Rainer Forst's 'basic right to justification,' it is argued, provides a means of understanding human rights that is at once moral and capable of addressing Habermas's concerns with a moral understanding of rights. Consideration is given to how the right to justification can be applied practically, paying attention to the moral autonomy of those affected by humanitarian crises while rejecting imperialism. Ultimately, it argues that morality is necessary due to its motivational force while law is necessary to constrain the possibilities for 'moral' responses to military humanitarian intervention, thus attempting to avoid instrumentalization. |
