Outsourcing the responsibility to protect

Humanitarian intervention and private military and security companies

Bibliographic Data

ID12915969
AuthorsJames Pattison (0000-0002-6938-2321, University of Manchester, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume2
Issue1
Pages1-31
Publication date2010-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1752-9719 • E-ISSN: 1752-9727
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1752971909990224
OpenAlexW2168269910
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited44

States have recently agreed that there is a responsibility to protect populations threatened by genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. The international community, however, often lacks the resources and willingness to carry out a key part of this responsibility, that is, to undertake humanitarian intervention effectively when required. One potential solution to this problem is to outsource intervention to private military and security companies. In this article, I consider this option. In particular, I present a largely consequentialist argument which asserts that, when two conditions are met, using these companies to bolster the capacity to undertake humanitarian intervention might be morally justifiable overall

Argument (complex analysis · Business · Economics · Ethnic Cleansing · Genocide · Human rights · Humanitarian intervention · Intervention (counseling · Law and economics · Outsourcing · Political science · Responsibility to Protect · Terrorism · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Law and Human Rights · Law · War, Ethics, and Justification

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub