Hollow Norms and the Responsibility to Protect

260 Pages·2019·2.55 MB·English

by  Aidan Hehir

Hollow Norms

and the
Responsibility
to Protect
Aidan Hehir
Hollow Norms and the Responsibility
to Protect
“The Responsibility to Protect continues to gain rhetorical international support, at
the same time that human rights are being increasingly compromised and atrocities
across the world abound. Aidan Hehir not only calls out this radical juxtaposition,
he explains exactly how it has come to pass. As a hollow, malleable norm that has
been co-opted for strategic purposes by states, R2P has actually entrenched more
conservative outcomes than its progressive advocates acknowledge. Hehir’s is a
trenchant, organized, sharp, accessible, and ultimately devastating argument for the
enormous gap between R2P celebratory invocation, and its (in)efficacy.”
—Brent Steel, Professor, University of Utah, USA
“Hollow Norms and the Responsibility to Protect is an urgent call to re-evaluate trium-
phalism about the efficacy of the Responsibility to Protect norm. Hehir, one of the
world’s leading scholars of the history, politics and impact of R2P, demonstrates that
frequent invocation of R2P does not lead to effective action in limiting the kinds
of suffering the norm was established to confront. The book treats R2P with great
subtlety, advancing a compelling argument that Pillars 1 and 2 are almost bound to
fail due to the nature of the regimes which tend to commit mass atrocities, thus the
international community’s focus on these pillars at the expense of Pillar 3 is doomed
to fail. The analysis in the book is of wide relevance to international relations as
Hehir argues that norms in general can be “hollow” in so far as they fail to impel
states to behave in accordance with them even while attracting high levels of consen-
sus and rhetorical commitment. This book challenges a great deal of contemporary
wisdom on humanitarianism, but is motivated by Hehir’s commitment to human
rights, meaning the analysis is humane and eventually optimistic as well as excoria-
ting of state and civil society failures. An essential read for all who wonder how so
much suffering can exist in a world so full of norms which should compel states to
protect populations.”
—Kirsten Ainley, Assistant Professor, LSE, UK
“In his provocative book, Aidan Hehir boldly declares that ‘R2P cannot work.’
He measures the claims that the responsibility to protect has made ‘progress’
against the reality of declining protection of human rights globally, and finds the
former wanting. While his conclusions will be challenging - indeed dismaying - to
supporters of greater protection of human rights, his ‘relentless scepticism’ is
essential reading for those who wish to realistically chart a way forward to better
human rights protection and the prevention of atrocities around the world.”
—Kurt Mills, Professor, University of Dundee, UK
“Hehir’s central contention that the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a ‘hollow
norm’, the ‘inherent malleability’ of which makes it vulnerable to ‘mendacious
invocation’ is a typically provocative argument from an author who has, more
than most participants in the debate over R2P, sought to swim against the pre-
vailing tide by questioning the norm’s effectiveness in changing how we respond
to mass atrocity crimes. Acknowledging that the language of R2P has now
entered the mainstream of diplomatic discourse, Hehir laments – and at times
lambasts – what he sees as the ‘focus on the quantity of support for R2P rather
than quality of this support’, arguing that the ultimate judgement on R2P must
be based on the effect it has had on the ground in terms of reducing human
suffering rather than the repetitions of support that it has received in the
hallowed halls in which the world’s diplomats congregate.”
—Justin Morris, Senior Lecturer, University of Hull, UK
“With his new book, Hehir makes a provocative contribution to the ever-growing
literature on the Responsibility to Protect. He challenges arguments by propo-
nents of R2P’s efficacy, and convincingly critiques the real impact of R2P on states’
behaviour by showing the discrepancy between the positive normative development
of R2P and its implementation. It is a thought-provoking read for not only aca-
demic readership but also practitioners.”
—Pınar Gözen Ercan, Faculty, Hacettepe University, Turkey
Aidan Hehir
Hollow Norms
and the Responsibility
to Protect
Aidan Hehir
Department of Politics and
International Relations
University of Westminster
London, UK
ISBN 978-3-319-90535-8 ISBN 978-3-319-90536-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90536-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018940741
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For Sarah, Esmé, Elsie and Iris
A
cknowledgements
Thanks to everyone at Palgrave Macmillan for helping this come to fru-
ition. Thanks also to my colleagues at the Department of Politics and
International Relations, especially Suzy Robson for making working
there bearable!
Many people have discussed the issues raised in this book with me
over the past few years, and I have benefited enormously from their
feedback; thanks in particular to Justin Morris, Adrian Gallagher, Jess
Gifkins, James Pattison, Susan Bitensky, Kirsten Ainley, Jeremy Moses,
Catherine Jones, Bob Murray, Lydia Davies-Bright, Tony Lang, Elisa
Randazzo, David Curran, Kelly Staples, Robert Zuber, Bill Lewis, Sam
Jarvis, Johnathon Gilmore, Alan Bloomfield, Mary Ellen O’Connell,
Benedict Doherty, Marta Welander, Christopher Hobson, Luke
Glanville, Stephen Mellon, Andrea Capussela, Jason Ralph, Fizzer
Rippon, Cristina Stefan, Mark Kersten, Ismail Kadare, Enzosky Le Fevre
Cervini.
Biggest thanks go to my wife Sarah, and our three daughters Esmé,
Elsie and Iris, for all the fun and love.
vii
A A H
lso by idAn eHir
Protecting Human Rights in the 21st Century (co-editor, Routledge, 2017)
Libya, the Responsibility to Protect, and the Future of Humanitarian
Intervention (co-editor, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013)
Humanitarian Intervention: An Introduction 2nd Edition (Palgrave
Macmillan, 2013)
The Responsibility to Protect: Rhetoric, Reality and the Future of
Humanitarian Intervention (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)
International Law, Security and Ethics (co-editor, Routledge, 2011)
Kosovo, Intervention and Statebuilding (editor, Routledge, 2010)
Humanitarian Intervention: An Introduction (Palgrave Macmillan,
2009)
Humanitarian Intervention after Kosovo (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008)
Statebuilding: Theory and Practice (co-editor, Routledge, 2007)
ix
c
ontents
1 Introduction: ‘R2P Has Begun to Change the World’ 1
2 The Rise of R2P and the Fall of Human Rights 29
3 R2P and the Limits of Norms 57
4 Sovereignty as Authority: State Support for R2P 87
5 Sovereignty as Liability: The Security Council and R2P 117
6 Norms and Mass Atrocities 149
7 Critics or Courtiers? R2P and the Status Quo 183
8 Conclusion: After Failure 213
Bibliography 225
Index 253
xi
l t
ist of Ables
Table 5.1 UN Security Council Resolutions which mention R2P
by year 125
Table 5.2 UN Security Council Resolutions which mention R2P 128
Table 5.3 UN Security Council Resolutions which mention R2P
by Pillars 135
Table 5.4 UN Security Council Resolutions which mention R2P
by UN Regional Group Focus 136
Table 5.5 States referenced in UN Security Council Resolutions
which mention R2P 136
xiii