Moving Beyond Kosovo: Envisioning a Coherent Theory of Humanitarian Intervention

Abstract

This paper uses the Kosovo bombing of 1999 as a starting point for imagining a sustainable, coherent theory of humanitarian intervention. The paper presents three principal problems of the Kosovo bombing—coherence, legality, and tactics—and describes their impact on the legitimacy of intervention and on human welfare. It then suggests three primary types of reforms that might assist in creating a more coherent logic of intervention: structural reform, coercion, and acculturation. Such reforms might assist the international community in responding more consistently and reliably to crisis situations across the globe.1