International Law in the Transition to Peace: Protecting Civilians under jus post bellum
... The world has witnessed a troubling mass violence committed by state and non-state actors over the years for which the 20th century has been described as century of genocide and violence (Williams and Buckley-Zistel, 2018:1). Most of these violent conflicts are intrastate conflicts conducted either with the government forces and rebels or between rebel groups (Lamont, 2021). Others involve a protest against authoritarian repression, all of them cause varying level of large-scale human rights violations and material destructions. ...
The last decades witnessed the emergence of transitional justice as a global norm which obliges post-conflict transitioning states to address systematic past human rights violations through purposeful judicial and non-judicial mechanisms. While its typical architecture focused on formal transitions, the dynamics of non-regime transitions and compliance is often neglected in transitional justice literature, and the measures also signify manifold challenges. This article attempted to assess the beleaguered transitional justice measures implemented in Ethiopia’s current troubled non-regime transition which came after the authoritarian and Marxist TPLF/EPRDF regime has collapsed in 2018 after violent anti-government protest. Consequently, under the new hybrid elites’ leadership, host of justice measures were implemented but they unfolded in the absence of both typical transition and guiding transition roadmap. Through the lens of compliance and resistance, the article finds that rather than addressing legacies of atrocious past, the flawed and instrumentalist implementation of contested justice processes and the mismanagement of the narrow window of opportunity led to unprecedented societal violence and new political complexities. The Ethiopian case, therefore, reveals that seeking the retributive transitional justice measure in the absence of typical regime change and inter-elites bargain, and in an ethnically polarized political transition exacerbate inter-elite discord, bolster ethnic-supported resistance from predecessor elites, and harbors the risk of resurgence of new violence. Hence, it falls short of achieving the compliance with the transitional justice norm.
Keywords: transitional Justice, compliance, challenges, Ethiopia, non-regime transition
Numerous losses always accompany military operations or military conflicts. Moreover, it is not only about material values. One of the most famous examples is the losses during the war, which, along with human casualties, destroyed historical buildings, museums, estates, paintings, galleries, etc. Books, archival documents, churches, and other objects were destroyed. Taking into account the bitter experience of losses and seeking to preserve cultural heritage from the devastating effects of military conflicts, the international community has adopted several documents on the protection of cultural heritage during armed conflicts. The most important are the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and International Humanitarian Law. According to these documents, states involved in armed conflicts are obliged to conduct hostilities in such a way as not to affect cultural property, not to use it as military objectives, and to avoid looting and destruction. Ukraine and Russia are also parties to this convention. On February 24, 2022, Ukraine and the entire civilized world faced another act of crime–an attack by Russian troops on the territory of a neighboring independent country. Of course, no sober-minded person could have imagined that in the twenty-first century, the satisfaction of the ambitions and sick imperial fantasies of an old, senile grandfather would be realized at the expense of the lives of innocent citizens and, worse, children. But still. Unfortunately, the worst happened. Of course, no goal can be justified at the cost of human lives. Along with human losses, Ukraine constantly suffers material losses, including in the form of cultural heritage sites and various historical monuments. The entire settlements’ accompanying infrastructure and communications were destroyed during the invasion. In the context of these losses, it is advisable to consider in detail and assess the loss of cultural property because, unfortunately, they are already lost to history forever. The article presents the main measures to preserve Ukraine's cultural property during the war. In particular, the creation of digital models of architectural objects.
This book provides a guide to the major thinkers, concepts, approaches, and debates that have shaped contemporary international legal theory. The book explores key questions and debates in international legal theory, offers new intellectual histories for the discipline, and provides fresh interpretations of significant historical figures, texts, and theoretical approaches. It considers many issues from the field of international legal theory, and provides a guide to the main themes and debates that have driven theoretical work in international law. The text features an introductory chapter (Theorizing International Law) followed by forty-eight chapters which aim to reflect the richness and diversity of this dynamic field. The book is divided into four parts organized around four themes: histories (Part I), approaches (Part II), doctrines and regimes (Part III), and debates (Part IV). The chapters in Part I, introduce some of the key theories and thinkers that are perceived to have provided the foundations of international legal theory and aim to create a methodological awareness of the historical dimension of that theory. The chapters in Part II reflect some of the different ways of categorizing approaches to the theory field. The chapters in Part III provide an overview of theoretical discussions relating to core doctrines and areas of contemporary international law whilst those in Part IV present some of the most existential and essential questions informing the discipline’s current state and likely future.
The chapter examines the connection between some recent robust mandates and jus post bellum , based on missions operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, and South Sudan. In the framework of robust mandates, peacekeepers’ main responsibilities are to protect civilians and support the local central government in regaining full control over its territory. The author discusses the pros and cons of robust mandates to reach a just and stable post-conflict arrangement. He argues that some recent robust mandates can have some immediate positive effects, but also may make respect for post bellum principles more problematic in the long term. Their contribution to just peace is questionable and requires further study.
The report is an official publication of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It is the outcome of an expert meeting which took place in January 2012 on the issue of the use of force in armed conflicts: interplay between the conduct of hostilities and law enforcement paradigms.
In a situation of armed conflict, the use of lethal or potentially lethal force (hereafter ‘use of force’) by armed forces and law-enforcement officials is governed by two different paradigms: the conduct of hostilities paradigm, derived from international humanitarian law (IHL) and the law enforcement paradigm, mainly derived from international human rights law (hereafter human rights law). It is not entirely clear in international law which situations in the context of an armed conflict are governed by the conduct of hostilities paradigm and which are covered by the law enforcement paradigm. In practice, also, it is sometimes difficult to draw the line between situations governed by the conduct of hostilities and the law enforcement paradigms. Consequently, there is a need to identify the types of cases in which the use of force falls within the conduct of hostilities paradigm or, by contrast, within that of law enforcement, in particular when these two paradigms apply in the same context.
The expert meeting endeavoured to find the dividing line between the conduct of hostilities and law enforcement paradigms in armed conflict situations, with a particular focus on non-international armed conflicts where the issue of interplay between the conduct of hostilities and law enforcement paradigms is prominent.
This open access book explores how UN peace operations are adapting to four transformational trends in the changing global order: (1) the rebalancing of relations between states of the global North and the global South; (2) the rise of regional organisations as providers of peace; (3) the rise of violent extremism and fundamentalist non-state actors; and (4) increasing demands from non-state actors for greater emphasis on human security. It identifies emerging conflict and peace trends (robustness of responses, rise of non-state threats, cross-state conflicts) and puts them in the context of tectonic shifts in the global order (rise of emerging powers, North-South rebalancing, emergence of regional organisations as providers of peace). The volume stimulates a discussion between practitioners and academics from the global North and South, and offers an analysis of how the international community collectively makes sense of the changing global order and its implications for UN peace operations. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019. All rights reserved.
Despite the pressing call by the 2015 UN High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations for a shift towards more people-centred approaches in peace operations and the wide recognition that peace, like a tree grows from the bottom up, many challenges still stand in the way of realising this shift on the ground. This chapter provides a cursory review of the factors underpinning these challenges and explains the rationale of the Panel’s renewed focus on this approach. It reflects on the conundrums faced by the UN Security Council in its attempts to embrace such an approach in a changing security landscape. The chapter makes concrete recommendations on how best the Council could overcome these conundrums when crafting the mandates of peace operations.
Protection of civilians (POC) is at the centre of UN peace operations, with majority of UN military and police personnel having this mandate. This chapter examines whether peacekeepers are provided with the means to fulfil it. Drawing on her experience from the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Frafjord Johnson reveals systemic weaknesses in the way the UN deploys, resources, and supports missions. A major problem is lack of guidance when host governments prove to be the main perpetrator. The primary responsibility to protect civilians rests with host governments, but the UN system also needs to train its forces in POC-operations and security reform. The chapter concludes that protection will remain an illusion for many civilians at risk unless these challenges are addressed.
While scholars have increasingly studied and recognised the importance of criminal agendas in post-conflict politics, organised crime is still a relatively new and foggy issue in the field of peace operations. This chapter examines how transnational organised crime has increasingly been recognised by the UN Security Council as a threat to international peace and security, and explains the limitations of the dominant law enforcement and capacity building approaches adopted by missions to date. Building on recent examples, it explores how UN peace operations could deal more effectively with the issue during the time they are deployed, by engaging more strategically with both the host state and local communities, and partnering with others with the ability to take longer-term preventive approaches.
The chapter traces the thinking and the practices surrounding the use of force by UN peacekeepers from the conceptual foundations laid in the era of classical peacekeeping to the contemporary focus on the protection of civilians and more “robust” operations. At the tactical level, a properly equipped and properly commanded force has on occasion been used with decisive effect in response to immediate crises or emergencies. The larger and more critical strategic lesson from the history of robust peacekeeping since 1999, however, is a cautionary one; one that highlights the need for the activities of UN “blue helmets” to be much more closely aligned than they have become over the past decade and a half to the search for viable political solutions to conflict.
Public emergencies such as civil wars, natural disasters, and economic crises test the theoretical and practical commitments of international human rights law. During national crises, international law permits states to suspend many human rights protections in order to safeguard national security. States frequently overstep the limits of this authority, violating even peremptory human rights such as the prohibitions against torture and prolonged arbitrary detention. In this volume, leading scholars from law, philosophy and political science grapple with challenging questions concerning the character, scope, and salience of international human rights, and they explain how the law seeks to protect human rights during emergencies. The contributors also evaluate the law's successes and failures and offer new proposals for strengthening respect for human rights.
In September 2013, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon adopted the Human Rights Up Front (HRUF) initiative and communicated his decision in a letter to staff in November through a recommitment, on behalf of the senior leadership and all staff, to uphold the responsibilities the Charter assigns them whenever there is a threat of serious and large-scale violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. His successor, Secretary-General Gutierrez appears determined to continue the initiative based on his explicit reference to it in his vision statement as a means to mainstream human rights and his congratulating his predecessor in general terms on HRUF during his remarks on taking the oath of office. Given the confidentiality that surrounds the initiative arising from fear of adverse Member States’ reaction, it remains difficult to identify all of its elements and assess its current status of implementation. However, based on publicly available UN documents, recent academic writing and public statements by UN officials, it is possible to attempt a preliminary evaluation of the impact of the HRUF initiative and its potential contribution to the prevention of genocide and other mass atrocity crimes.
This volume explores the principle and history of international human rights law. It addresses questions regarding the sources of human rights, its historical and cultural origins and its universality. It evaluates the effectiveness of procedures and international institutions in enforcing and ensuring compliance with human rights. This volume investigates the underlying structural principles that bind together the internationally-guaranteed rights and provide criteria for the emergence of new rights. It also evaluates whether the international human rights project has made a difference in the lives and well-being of individuals and groups around the world.
This volume explores the principle and history of international human rights law. It addresses questions regarding the sources of human rights, its historical and cultural origins and its universality. It evaluates the effectiveness of procedures and international institutions in enforcing and ensuring compliance with human rights. This volume investigates the underlying structural principles that bind together the internationally-guaranteed rights and provide criteria for the emergence of new rights. It also evaluates whether the international human rights project has made a difference in the lives and well-being of individuals and groups around the world.
This is the first major exploration of the United Nations Security Council’s part in addressing the problem of war, both civil and international, since 1945. Both during and after the Cold War the Council has acted in a limited and selective manner, and its work has sometimes resulted in failure. It has not been - and was never equipped to be - the centre of a comprehensive system of collective security. However, it remains the body charged with primary responsibility for international peace and security. It offers unique opportunities for international consultation and military collaboration, and for developing legal and normative frameworks. It has played a part in the reduction in the incidence of international war in the period since 1945. This study examines the extent to which the work of the UN Security Council, as it has evolved, has or has not replaced older systems of power politics and practices regarding the use of force. Its starting point is the failure to implement the UN Charter scheme of having combat forces under direct UN command. Instead, the Council has advanced the use of international peacekeeping forces; it has authorized coalitions of states to take military action; and it has developed some unanticipated roles such as the establishment of post-conflict transitional administrations, international criminal tribunals, and anti-terrorism committees. The book, bringing together distinguished scholars and practitioners, draws on the methods of the lawyer, the historian, the student of international relations, and the practitioner. It begins with an introductory overview of the Council’s evolving roles and responsibilities. It then discusses specific thematic issues, and through a wide range of case studies examines the scope and limitations of the Council’s involvement in war. It offers frank accounts of how belligerents viewed the UN, and how the Council acted and sometimes failed to act. The appendices provide comprehensive information - much of it not previously brought together in this form - of the extraordinary range of the Council’s activities. This book is a project of the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War.
This volume explores the principle and history of international human rights law. It addresses questions regarding the sources of human rights, its historical and cultural origins and its universality. It evaluates the effectiveness of procedures and international institutions in enforcing and ensuring compliance with human rights. This volume investigates the underlying structural principles that bind together the internationally-guaranteed rights and provide criteria for the emergence of new rights. It also evaluates whether the international human rights project has made a difference in the lives and well-being of individuals and groups around the world.
This book provides a guide to the major thinkers, concepts, approaches, and debates that have shaped contemporary international legal theory. The book explores key questions and debates in international legal theory, offers new intellectual histories for the discipline, and provides fresh interpretations of significant historical figures, texts, and theoretical approaches. It considers many issues from the field of international legal theory, and provides a guide to the main themes and debates that have driven theoretical work in international law. The text features an introductory chapter (Theorizing International Law) followed by forty-eight chapters which aim to reflect the richness and diversity of this dynamic field. The book is divided into four parts organized around four themes: histories (Part I), approaches (Part II), doctrines and regimes (Part III), and debates (Part IV). The chapters in Part I, introduce some of the key theories and thinkers that are perceived to have provided the foundations of international legal theory and aim to create a methodological awareness of the historical dimension of that theory. The chapters in Part II reflect some of the different ways of categorizing approaches to the theory field. The chapters in Part III provide an overview of theoretical discussions relating to core doctrines and areas of contemporary international law whilst those in Part IV present some of the most existential and essential questions informing the discipline’s current state and likely future.
Public emergencies such as civil wars, natural disasters, and economic crises test the theoretical and practical commitments of international human rights law. During national crises, international law permits states to suspend many human rights protections in order to safeguard national security. States frequently overstep the limits of this authority, violating even peremptory human rights such as the prohibitions against torture and prolonged arbitrary detention. In this volume, leading scholars from law, philosophy and political science grapple with challenging questions concerning the character, scope, and salience of international human rights, and they explain how the law seeks to protect human rights during emergencies. The contributors also evaluate the law's successes and failures and offer new proposals for strengthening respect for human rights.
The principle of proportionality in international law operates both in the law on the resort to force—or jus ad bellum —and the law that governs how wars are fought, or jus in bello . On both levels, it seeks to constrain force in relation to a certain lawful objective. Yet, beyond this understanding, few other aspects concerning the interaction between ad bellum and in bello proportionality are clear. This chapter addresses two distinct yet interrelated aspects of this interaction. The first concerns the question whether ad bellum proportionality applies throughout an armed conflict, alongside proportionality under jus in bello . The second addresses the manner in which both levels of proportionality interact, assuming that they indeed apply concurrently. Concerning the first question, this chapter revisits the debate between the “static approach,” which argues that at least in some cases, ad bellum proportionality ceases to apply after the initial judgment on the resort to force, and the “continuous approach,” which holds that ad bellum proportionality applies continuously throughout the conflict. By uncovering and contesting the normative and theoretical assumptions that underlie the static approach, this chapter offers a defense of the continuous approach. Regarding the second question, this chapter explores the specific difficulties of concurrent application, as these arise under different conceptions of ad bellum proportionality. It concludes that although both levels of proportionality apply concurrently, and albeit they share some moral and conceptual similarities, we should not conflate between them. Rather, owing to the difficulties this chapter discusses, a functional separation between the spheres of proportionality should be maintained.
Contemporary UN peacekeeping missions often have Chapter VII mandates and wide authorisations to use force, notably to protect civilians. Since 2010, however, the Security Council has created a new generation of stabilisation missions to support host governments. Peacekeepers in these missions are expected not only to protect civilians but also to combat armed groups, sometimes jointly with state security forces. While this may seem like just the next step in the UN’s gradual drift from traditional to robust peacekeeping, this article argues that stabilisation constitutes a more radical departure from conventional doctrines on the use of force by peacekeepers. In fact, stabilisation should be understood as a distinct form of UN-mandated intervention by invitation.
The Great Charter is often portrayed as the source of English liberties: a medieval document which projected its beneficent light forward over eight centuries and which, while representing the triumph of barons over monarch, brought to birth principles which had equal resonance for an age of representative governance and universal suffrage.Such portrayal is naturally and explicably depicted in brighter colours in this its 800th anniversary with celebrations, exhibitions, conferences, a new and scholarly book co-authored by none other than the recently retired Lord Chief Justice, the aptly named Lord Judge, and a no less scholarly but more sardonic one by the historian and Television pundit David Starkey and last but not least, these lectures under the auspices of the University of Buckingham.I am particularly happy to be invited to give the first of these lectures since it enables me to discharge my obligation as a Visiting Professor which, I regret, that I have hitherto honoured only in the way of the Oxford don who, when asked during a mid-twentieth century inquiry into the governance of the University about his teaching duties, replied ‘I have to give an annual lecture – but not, you understand, every year’.
On the Inadequate Reach of Humanitarian and Human Rights Law and the Need for a New Instrument - Volume 77 Issue 3 - Theodor Meron
This Discussion Paper considers peacekeeping’s challenges in dealing with the security and governance risks posed by organized crime in conflict-affected states, with a focus on the role of law enforcement and the United Nations police component. It contends that the environments in which peace operations are deployed have evolved due to the changing nature of armed conflicts—which are now mostly internal, involve multiple non-state armed groups, and are protracted and internationalized. Organized crime has become an important source of financing for non-state armed groups and presents several interlinked challenges: enabling the continued participation of armed groups in conflict, driving the expansion of the black and grey economies, and facilitating corruption in state institutions—especially those involved in law enforcement and justice. The paper suggests several ways in which UN peacekeeping could more effectively address the threats posed by organized crime to achieving and sustaining peace.
In the last two decades, human rights law has played an expanding role in the legal regulation of wartime conduct. In the process, human rights law and international humanitarian law have developed a complicated sibling relationship. For some, this relationship is viewed as a mutually reinforcing effort between like-minded regimes designed to civilize human behavior. For others, the relationship is a more complicated sibling rivalry. In this book, an unparalleled collection of legal theorists examine the relationship between these two bodies of law. Each chapter skilfully maps the possibilities of harmonization while, at the same time, raising cautionary flags about the limits of that project. The authors not only chart the existing state of the law, but also debate the normative implications of the continuing influence of human rights norms on current practices including torture, targeted killings, the conduct of non-international armed conflicts, and post-war state building.
In the last two decades, human rights law has played an expanding role in the legal regulation of wartime conduct. In the process, human rights law and international humanitarian law have developed a complicated sibling relationship. For some, this relationship is viewed as a mutually reinforcing effort between like-minded regimes designed to civilize human behavior. For others, the relationship is a more complicated sibling rivalry. In this book, an unparalleled collection of legal theorists examine the relationship between these two bodies of law. Each chapter skilfully maps the possibilities of harmonization while, at the same time, raising cautionary flags about the limits of that project. The authors not only chart the existing state of the law, but also debate the normative implications of the continuing influence of human rights norms on current practices including torture, targeted killings, the conduct of non-international armed conflicts, and post-war state building.
In the last two decades, human rights law has played an expanding role in the legal regulation of wartime conduct. In the process, human rights law and international humanitarian law have developed a complicated sibling relationship. For some, this relationship is viewed as a mutually reinforcing effort between like-minded regimes designed to civilize human behavior. For others, the relationship is a more complicated sibling rivalry. In this book, an unparalleled collection of legal theorists examine the relationship between these two bodies of law. Each chapter skilfully maps the possibilities of harmonization while, at the same time, raising cautionary flags about the limits of that project. The authors not only chart the existing state of the law, but also debate the normative implications of the continuing influence of human rights norms on current practices including torture, targeted killings, the conduct of non-international armed conflicts, and post-war state building.
"The advance of global human rights is a kind of miracle. This book furthers the enterprise with a collection of cutting edge chapters on the legal issues of the second half of the 20th century. Those who want to stay ahead in this adventure in the 21st century will need to know the challenges that appear on every page". © The Editors and Contributors Severally 2010. All rights reserved.
Cambridge Core - Humanitarian Law - War, Aggression and Self-Defence - by Yoram Dinstein
Policing is commonly thought to be governed by domestic legal systems and not international law. However, various international legal standards are shown to have an impact in situations where police use force. Police Use of Force under International Law explores this tension in detail for the first time. It critically reviews the use of force by law enforcement agencies in a range of scenarios: against detainees, during protests, and in the context of counterterrorism and counterpiracy operations. Key trends, such as the growing use of private security services, are also considered. This book provides a human rights framework for police weaponry and protection of at-risk groups based on critical jurisprudence from the last twenty years. With pertinent case law and case studies to illustrate the key principles of the use of force, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in policing, human rights, state use of force or criminology. Examines an unexplored branch of international law: the law of law enforcement. Includes an up-to-date summary of key jurisprudence governing use of force by state for law enforcement purposes. Dispels common misconceptions about the use of deadly force by outlining the core principles. © Stuart Casey-Maslen and Sean Connolly 2017. All Rights Reserved.
Public emergencies such as civil wars, natural disasters, and economic crises test the theoretical and practical commitments of international human rights law. During national crises, international law permits states to suspend many human rights protections in order to safeguard national security. States frequently overstep the limits of this authority, violating even peremptory human rights such as the prohibitions against torture and prolonged arbitrary detention. In this volume, leading scholars from law, philosophy and political science grapple with challenging questions concerning the character, scope, and salience of international human rights, and they explain how the law seeks to protect human rights during emergencies. The contributors also evaluate the law's successes and failures and offer new proposals for strengthening respect for human rights.
Public emergencies such as civil wars, natural disasters, and economic crises test the theoretical and practical commitments of international human rights law. During national crises, international law permits states to suspend many human rights protections in order to safeguard national security. States frequently overstep the limits of this authority, violating even peremptory human rights such as the prohibitions against torture and prolonged arbitrary detention. In this volume, leading scholars from law, philosophy and political science grapple with challenging questions concerning the character, scope, and salience of international human rights, and they explain how the law seeks to protect human rights during emergencies. The contributors also evaluate the law's successes and failures and offer new proposals for strengthening respect for human rights.
Public emergencies such as civil wars, natural disasters, and economic crises test the theoretical and practical commitments of international human rights law. During national crises, international law permits states to suspend many human rights protections in order to safeguard national security. States frequently overstep the limits of this authority, violating even peremptory human rights such as the prohibitions against torture and prolonged arbitrary detention. In this volume, leading scholars from law, philosophy and political science grapple with challenging questions concerning the character, scope, and salience of international human rights, and they explain how the law seeks to protect human rights during emergencies. The contributors also evaluate the law's successes and failures and offer new proposals for strengthening respect for human rights.
The UN operation in South Sudan (UNMISS) is amongst the UN's most challenging contemporary peacekeeping missions. Although UNMISS was mandated in accordance with Chapter VII of the UN Charter to protect civilians, things did not go as planned. The mandate evolved to deal with the unfolding situation and it appeared to herald a more robust approach. This did not translate into an effective protection strategy. Faced with a crisis the UN opened its gates to admit fleeing civilians and, in so doing, created protection of civilian (PoC) sites. Although an unprecedented and courageous decision, these sites created a range of problems and did not deal with the majority of civilians under threat outside these camps. Such a situation is likely to arise in the future and this makes it imperative to learn from mistakes made. UNMISS was criticized for failing to do its job. There is a need for a strengthened but fair review of cases of nonperformance by those in command, particularly in the context of civilian protection. UNMISS demonstrates the need for a tactical and strategic review of how to deal with such crises, especially when a government is one of the perpetrators. While no one factor or element of the peacekeeping architecture has caused the mission failure, it is imperative to learn from the mistakes and ensure a more planned response that addresses the flaws evident in the UNMISS mission.
The gap between traditional peacekeeping principles and the realities of contemporary operations is becoming increasingly apparent.
Protecting civilians from conflict and atrocities has become a major focus of governments, the UN, and activists. Yet peace operations—the main policy instrument for directly shielding civilians from violence—vary widely in how well they are designed to do so. One much-maligned problem is a gap between a force's ambitions to protect civilians and its physical resources for doing so. Missions plagued by these ambitions–resources gaps gesture toward protecting civilians but are not designed to do so effectively. They can also worsen civilian suffering. This article explores the politics behind these gaps, focusing on the role of powerful states—especially major Western democracies—in creating and facilitating them. It argues that ambitions–resources gaps represent a form of organized hypocrisy that helps political leaders balance competing normative and material pressures to protect civilians while limiting costs and risks. Case studies of France's Operation Turquoise in Rwanda and US support for the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) in Darfur support the argument.
