1. Introduction 1.1 Defining Humanitarian Intervention The subject of humanitarian interventions is a much-debated topic with numerous aspects worthy of in-depth analysis. Literature surrounding UN interventions is by no means limited. However, in contrast to existing works regarding interventionism, I will add to the limited research combining this focus with an analysis of the use of military force. Throughout my paper, I will focus on the legal and theoretical frameworks and how, despite cynical criticisms surrounding controversial actions of the UN, the technicalities reveal the legitimacy of a great deal more than is suggested. These will be used in conjunction with an examination of the application of humanitarian military interventions, from the planning stage to the implementation of such strategies. Firstly, however, humanitarian intervention in the post-Cold War era requires a comprehensive definition, giving to the dissimilarities of typified characteristics from Cold War and pre-Cold War definitions. Traditional definitions include; "Military force against another state when the chief publicly declared aim of that military action is ending human-rights violations being perpetrated by the state against which it is directed." 262 One must be sure to identify various faults with similar explanations, many of which are common within traditional views of the act of intervention. Firstly, as I will discuss in later chapters, the assumption that the players involved in combat are ‘states’ typifies the outdated supposition that the state is the foremost subject of security studies and sole perpetrator of military engagements. Contemporary definitions of intervention must note the rising occurrence of militant groups. For example, extra-state armed conflicts, involving a state and an armed group outside of said state rose exponentially in the
262 Marko Marjanovic, ‘ Is Humanitarian War the Exception? ’, Mises Institute, (2011), <https://mises.org/library/humanitarian-war-exception> [accessed, 15/03/2016]
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