Intervention

The Intervention program aims to further elucidate the relationship between international law and international politics in armed interventions by focusing   on the decision when to intervene in particular situations.

In the last decades, large- and small scale interventions were initiated, at least officially, for a variety of humanitarian and disarmament purposes. Controversy surrounding the standards for intervention has lead to criticism on both the legitimacy and legality of these armed interventions on various occasions; increased emphasis on human rights over state sovereignty, international criminal law, terrorism and nuclear disarmament has fundamentally changed perceptions of international security. Consequently, the fundamentals and basic principles of international law are under siege. As the discussions over the concept ‘responsibility to protect’ show, neither the legitimacy or the legality of humanitarian intervention have been firmly established in the law on the use of force.

The Intervention Program analyses the developments in the purposes and forms of intervention, as well as its consequences, such as migration issues. It is complimentary to the Vitoria Institute’s Nation-building program, which is geared towards the question of how intervention must take place.