Humanitarian Intervention and the Constructed Duty of Justice Claire Malcolm
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
BEING AND BECOMING: HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION AND THE CONSTRUCTED DUTY OF JUSTICE CLAIRE MALCOLM 99- 123 - 125-4 CARDIFF UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EUROPEAN STUDIES PhD IN POLITICS 2009 A dissertation submitted at the School of European Studies, Cardiff University in candidature for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy UMI Number: U585B56 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U585B56 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 .. dedicated to my Parents, my Brother, Leigh, Vicky, and Oscar” Contents Dedication i. Table of Contents ii. Abstract vi. Acknowledgements vii. Glossary viii. Chapter One: Introduction 1 I. Traditional Conceptions of International Justice 5 II. Why Social Constructivism? 9 III. Why Humanitarian Intervention? 12 IV. Humanitarian Intervention, the Ontology of Becoming and the Constructed Duty of Justice 16 V. Outlining the Project 23 Chapter One: Hybridising Constructivism 25 I. Introduction 25 II. Humanitarian Intervention: Illegal but Moral? 28 III. Conventional Constructivism 35 i. The Significance of Norms 35 ii. Continuity and Change 37 iii. The ‘Middle Ground’ 39 iv. Empirical Constructivism 45 v. The Limitations of Conventional Constructivism 46 ii i IV. Cosmopolitan Constructivism 48 i. Post-Rawlsian Constructivism 51 ii. Thomas Pogge 52 iii. Allen Buchanan 56 V. Communitarian Constructivism 60 i. Robert Jackson 62 ii. Emanuel Adler 68 iii.Michael Walzer 70 VI. Solidarist Constructivism 75 i. RJ Vincent 79 ii. Nicholas Wheeler 82 VII. Feminism and Humanitarian Intervention 86 i. ‘Mainstreaming’ Feminism 89 ii. J. Ann Tickner 91 iii. Birgit Locher and Elisabeth Prugl 94 v. Feminism Constructivism andHumanitarian Intervention 97 VIII. Conclusion 99 Chapter Two: Feminist Constructivism, Gender Constructivism and Humanitarian Intervention 102 I. Introduction 102 II. Hybridising Feminism 103 III. The Theoretical Basis for Intervention 109 i. Feminism(s) and Humanitarian Intervention 109 ii. Humanitarian Intervention and Feminist Empiricism 110 iii. Humanitarian Intervention and Feminist Standpoint 114 a. Care Feminism 115 b. Post-Colonial Feminism 120 iv. Humanitarian Intervention and Post-Modern Feminism 121 IV. The Components of Humanitarian Intervention 125 i. Feminism and the Transition to R2P 125 ii. Feminist Constructivism and Humanitarian Intervention 131 V. Gender Constructivism 136 VII. Conclusion 144 Chapter Three: Allen Buchanan, Cosmopolitan Constructivism And Humanitarian Intervention 148 I. Introduction 148 II. The Theoretical Basis for Intervention 149 i. The Traditional Liberal Defence of Humanitarian Intervention 149 ii. The Foundations of Institutional Moral Reasoning 157 iii. Institutional Moral Reasoning and the Natural Duty of Justice 162 III. The Components of Humanitarian Intervention 168 i. 1 Institutionalising’ Intervention 168 ii. Rejecting State Majoritarianism 170 iii. Agency 174 (a) Beyond the UNSC 174 (b) Illegal Legal Reform 177 (c) Arguing for a League of Democracies 178 (d) Membership of a League of Democracies 181 (e) Governing the League of Democracies: v ex ante and ex post Accountability Mechanisms 183 llll. The Limitations of Buchanan’s Position 187 i. The Practical Limitations of a ‘League of Democracies’: Charles A. Kupchan’s critique 187 ii. The Theoretical Limitations of a ‘League of Democracies’: Institutional Moral Reasoning and Liberal Cosmopolitanism 191 V. Conclusion 195 Chapter Four: Nicholas Wheeler, Solidarist Constructivism and Humanitarian Intervention 201 I. Introduction 201 II. The Theoretical Basis for Intervention 204 i. The Developing Norm of Humanitarian Intervention 204 III. The Components of Humanitarian Intervention 207 i. Just Cause 207 (a) Morality, Legitimacy and ‘Becoming’ 214 ii. Agency 218 (a) Constructive Abstention 224 (b) ‘Uniting for Peace’ 225 (c) United Nations Armed Force 226 (d) Agency and the R2P 230 (e) The Quandary of Solidarism 231 (f) The Role of ‘Mitigation’ 235 iii. Motivation 239 iv. Just Settlement 242 IV. Conclusion 247 vi Chapter Five: Michael Walzer, Communitarian Constructivism 254 and Humanitarian Intervention I. Introduction 254 II. The Theoretical Basis for Introduction 257 i. Self-Determination 257 ii. Reiterative Universalism 263 iii. The Evolution of Reiterative Universalism 267 iv. Reiterative Universalism and ‘Becoming’ 271 II. The Components of Humanitarian Intervention 272 i. Just Cause 272 (a) The Limitations of Non-Intervention 276 ii. Agency 279 (a) US Hegemony 285 (b) The Limitations of Unilateralism 287 iii. Motivation 290 (a) Selectivity 292 iv. Just Settlement 295 IV. Conclusion 303 Conclusion 308 I. The Theoretical Basis for Intervention 309 II. The Components of Humanitarian Intervention 315 i. Just Cause 315 ii. Agency 317 iii. Motivation, Means and Settlement 319 III. The Ontology of Becoming and the Constructed Duty of Justice 322 vii IV. Concluding Remarks Bibliography Appendix I. E-mail addressed to Professor Nicholas Wheeler Abstract Debates concerning international justice are now integral to the discipline of international relations. Among the most pressing of these ethical and legal dilemmas is the matter of whether the use of force can be justified for humanitarian purposes, or for the protection of human rights. Although a wealth of theorists have taken aim at this issue, it is the contention of this thesis that only the ‘ontology of becoming’ (an idea which is traced through all branches of constructivist theorising) boasts the conceptual and analytical force to successfully and thoroughly appraise the relationship between humanitarian intervention and international justice. In developing this claim, this thesis seeks to hybridise constructivism with a number of other theories which employ the arguments associated with the ontology of becoming, including: cosmopolitanism, communitarianism, solidarism and feminism. The purpose of this process is to demonstrate the ways in which this branch of international relations theory can both enrich, and be enriched by an account of what might be thought of as a ‘constructed duty of justice’. Ultimately, this thesis asserts that adherence to the requirement of institutional feasibility dictated by the ontology of becoming necessarily limits the agenda for the reform of international society. However, those normative developments which can withstand the restrictions brought to bear by the consensual nature of international politics do provide the means for international society to advance, albeit incrementally and inconsistently, toward an increasingly prominent role for considerations of justice. IX Acknowledgements I am indebted to the Cardiff University European Studies Department and, in particular, to my supervisors Dr Peter Sutch and Professor David Boucher for their invaluable and immeasurable contribution to this thesis. I would also like to express my sincerest thanks to Professor Nicholas Wheeler of Aberystwyth University for graciously agreeing to participate in this project. Finally, words cannot convey my gratitude to my incredible family and to Leigh whose unfailing support and encouragement made completion of this project possible. x Glossary GA General Assembly HI Humanitarian Intervention HR Human Rights ICISS International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty IR International Relations JW Just W ar NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NS National Sovereignty PIL Public International Law R2P Responsibility to Protect UN United Nations UNAF United Nations Armed Force UNSC United Nations Security Council US United States XI Being and Becoming: Humanitarian Intervention and the Constructed Duty of Justice Claire Malcolm Introduction If there is to be a sense of reality, then there must also be a sense of possibility.1 Robert Musil The Man Without Qualities The purpose of this thesis is to analyse and appraise the nature and limits of a duty of justice in international society, through the conduit of humanitarian intervention (HI) and the theoretical lens of social constructivism. As David Boucher has persuasively argued, a comparable agenda unites almost all political theorists concerned with the parameters of international justice. [t]he same substantive end is desired by many political theorists of international relations, an extension of the moral community which posits a certain degree of universalism, while at the same time seeking to preserve difference and respect for diverse identities.2 It is this attempt to balance: human rights (HR) with cultural diversity; individual well-being with the territorial integrity of states; and a realistic appreciation of the status quo with the pursuit of tenable and durable moral reform to the international system which informs efforts to define, and if necessary restrict, our conceptions of an international duty of justice. One of the principal contentions of this thesis is that, of the myriad theoretical approaches which govern the study of international relations (IR), social constructivism is the most effectively