IDENTITY in CRISIS the Politics of Humanitarian Intervention
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IDENTITY IN CRISIS The Politics of Humanitarian Intervention Matthew R Ward PhD Politics The University of Edinburgh 2010 i Table of Contents Declaration.............................................................................................................................................iii List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................iv Abstract..................................................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgements...............................................................................................................................vii 1. Introduction: Humanitarian Intervention in the Post-Cold War Era ...................................................1 2. A Lack of Definition: Towards an Analytical Understanding of Humanitarian Intervention...........10 3. From the Abstract to the Concrete: Using Meta-theory to Inform Mid-level Theory.......................36 4. A Framework for Action: Identity and Foreign Policy.....................................................................63 5. Into the Brave New World: The US Intervention in Somalia in 1992 ..............................................97 6. Travelling Without a Map: US Non-intervention in Rwanda in 1994 ............................................128 7. Balancing the Equation: The US Intervention in Haiti in 1994 ......................................................165 8. Identity under Audit: From Theory to Practice and Back Again ....................................................206 Appendix 1: Somalia Timeline ...........................................................................................................226 Appendix 2: Rwanda Timeline ...........................................................................................................238 Appendix 3: Haiti Timeline ................................................................................................................247 Appendix 4: Bibliography ..................................................................................................................272 ii Declaration I declare that this thesis is entirely my own work, and that no part of it has been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Matthew Ward 30 November 2009 iii List of Abbreviations ABC American Broadcasting Company APC Armoured Personnel Carrier AU African Union BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CARICOM Caribbean Community CBC Congressional Black Caucus CBS Columbia Broadcasting System CIA Central Intelligence Agency CMO Chief Military Observer CNN Cable News Network D Democrat DAS Deputy Assistant Secretary of State DPKO Department of Peacekeeping Operations ECOMOG Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States ESDP European Security and Defence Policy EU European Union FRAPH Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti GOP ‘Grand Old Party’ (Republican Party) HR House Resolution ICISS International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty ICJ International Court of Justice ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross ICTY International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia IOM International Organization for Migration IR International Relations ITN Independent Television News KLA Kosovo Liberation Army MICIVIH International Civilian Mission in Haiti MILOB Military Observer MINURCAT United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad MONUC United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo MSF Médecins Sans Frontières NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NGO Nongovernmental Organisation iv NIE National Intelligence Estimate NPR National Public Radio NSC National Security Council NSR National Security Review NYT New York Times OAS Organization of American States PDD Presidential Decision Directive PKO Peacekeeping Operation PRD Presidential Review Directive QRF Quick Reaction Force R Republican RPF Rwandan Patriotic Front RRRE Resolution, Redescription, Retrodiction, Elimination SNF Somali National Front SPLM Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement UNAMID United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur UNAMIR United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda UNGA United Nations General Assembly UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNITAF Unified Task Force (Somalia) UNMIH United Nations Mission in Haiti UNOSOM United Nations Operation in Somalia UNSC United Nations Security Council UNSG United Nations Secretary-General US United States USAID United States Agency for International Development USC United Somali Congress USG United States Government USIP United States Institute for Peace USS United States Ship WFP World Food Programme WP Washington Post v Abstract This thesis examines the theory and practice of humanitarian intervention in the early post- Cold War era. Taking as its basis US policy towards Somalia, Rwanda and Haiti between 1992 and 1994, it develops a theory of humanitarian intervention based on constructivist and scientific realist principles. Using identity as the organising concept, the thesis examines the meta-theoretical precepts of constructivism and scientific realism, which are developed into a methodology for analysing questions of foreign policy. Incorporating critical insights from sequential path analysis, morphogenetic social analysis—the notion of a dynamic mutual constitution of structure and agency—and constructivist social theory, the case studies provide a useful new means of conceptualising humanitarian intervention as a foreign policy practice through an identity-driven analysis. The findings of the research shed much light on this practice and its future prospects. They also suggest new directions for a scientific realist/constructivist research agenda. vi Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to all those people who have facilitated the writing of this thesis, whether directly by commenting on the work as it progressed or simply by providing more personal support over the course of my studies. In particular, I would like to thank my two supervisors over most of the course of this project, Professor John Peterson and Dr. Seán Molloy, whose patience and guidance was of immeasurable assistance. I was fortunate indeed to have two supervisors whose approaches provided such a useful balance and whose comments upon early drafts and ideas pushed me in such interesting directions. In this context, I would also like to thank Dr. Andrew Thompson, whose supervision in the early stages of this project was both enthusiastic and thoughtful. I was likewise fortunate to be a part of an excellent postgraduate community at Edinburgh University, which provided invaluable opportunities to present and receive comments upon my work as it progressed, as well as being a pleasant environment in which to spend the past few years. Finally, I would like to thank my family, who have always been most supportive of my endeavours, but were particularly so during my studies. It has been a great pleasure to have been able to work towards the completion of this thesis so close to home and all that means. Thank you all. vii Chapter 1 Introduction: Humanitarian Intervention in the Post- Cold War Era It is often suggested that the post-Cold War era ended on September 11, 2001. 1 A corollary of this argument suggests that, as this era ended, so too did the sun set on one of the more notable features of foreign policy action in this period: humanitarian intervention. 2 Such arguments may have merit. Indeed, they seem largely borne out by the empirical record. While it is easy to point to a flurry of humanitarian interventions in the immediate post- Cold War period—northern Iraq, Somalia, Liberia, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor and Sierra Leone would feature on most analysts’ lists—it is much more difficult to do so in the post-September 11 era. This decline is not for a lack of candidates. Civil strife in Sudan, Chad, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to mention but a few, would all seem to share the features of chronic civil strife coupled with grave humanitarian emergency that characterised most of the sites of humanitarian intervention in the 1990s. In many of these places, too, the international community has been moved to action. In Darfur, an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force was replaced by a hybrid UN–AU force in late 2007. In the same year, the UN, in concert with the European Union, established another peacekeeping force on Darfur’s western border, in Chad and the Central African Republic. In Somalia, Ethiopian troops unilaterally intervened to support the provisional government, and an AU force was later established to support efforts to establish a stable environment in the country. And in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN mission has slowly evolved from a small group of military observers to one of the largest and most complex peacekeeping missions in its history. But few would suggest that these actions constitute humanitarian interventions in the way we normally understand the term. It is difficult to put one’s finger on exactly why: perhaps 1 For nuanced views, see Buzan, “Will the ‘Global War on Terrorism’ Be the New Cold War?” 82(6) International Affairs (2006), 1101-1118; as well as some of the contributions to Booth and Dunne (eds.), Worlds in Collision: Terror and the Future of