The Evolution of the Responsibility to Protect: From the ICISS to the 2005 World Summit

This book provides a discussion of the main events and arguments that have influenced the debate around the R2P and the principle’s evolution, namely, the war on terror and the 2003 war in Iraq, the crisis in Darfur, and lastly, the U.N. Security Council buy-in regarding the ICISS articulated criteria to guide the use of military force in humanitarian intervention. A central theme underlying this book is the claim that the international system is experiencing a change in the writers/authors of the rules of the system. The argument is built upon the abovementioned main factors that influence the R2P’s evolution as evidence – the central assertion being that the war in Iraq has weakened the moral standing of the U.S. and the U.K., and has negative impact on the credibility of these states as norm carriers. This has not only diminished their ability to build consensus on and commitment to the R2P, but has also engendered widespread hostility and suspicion towards the principle.