Chapter

3 Problems with international intervention

November 2019

DOI:10.4324/9781351122511-3

In book: Destabilising Interventions in Somalia (pp.43-62)

Authors:

Debora Valentina Malito

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Chapter 3 introduces the grand narrative of the state fragility discourse as part of the sovereignty–intervention ‘logic of representation’, where preassigned definitions of sovereignty (the state as normally sovereign) ground the meaning of all terms existing in the intervention/sovereignty order. One of the most pernicious problems of this approach is that of ignoring the role that intervention projects play in shaping domestic politics. The chapter surfs the point break of this logic by approaching intervention not as unintended exceptions but as the rule for some states, and as a sort of ‘alibi’ for hegemonic states and institutions in ‘fixing and giving meaning to sovereignty’ (Weber, 1992, p. 202). The chapter therefore provides an insight into the inequalities of power and limitations on sovereignty surrounding the practice and ideology of contemporary interventions. It elaborates on the existing literature to identify structural factors, motivations/aims and contextual factors under which international intervention might impact on the target state. This analytical framework is employed across Chapters 4, 5 and 6 as a guide in examining the historical developments of the three phases of intervention that are under analysis.

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