A More Peaceful World

Preventing wars caused by Foreign Intervention

Foreign intervention has a poor record of success. It can be a trigger for wars, It can cause escalation (“mission creep”), and can prolong and intensify civil wars. Factors that cause failure of interventions include vague, ill-defined objectives, long duration, poor execution, lack of local support, and lack of international support.

It would be better if the USA abandoned its self-appointed role of world policeman, and handed it back to the United Nations.

There is one valid reason for intervention. Since 2005 the UN has had a globally agreed policy of Responsibility to Protect (R2P), introduced as a response to the genocide in Rwanda. This policy has three Pillars:

1. An agreement that every state has a responsibility to protect its people
2. States pledge to assist each other in discharging their responsibility
3. If a state is failing in its responsibility, other states will take collective action

There exists a certain amount of doubt about Pillar 3, since it implies a willingness for the UN to engage in military action, which is always difficult to agree on. However, if the UN could manage to gather and coordinate enough support, it could intervene with overwhelming force to suppress any resistance that the regime could put up.

The Global Human Rights Index would be helpful as a non-violent means of encouraging all governments to respect human rights.