From Humanitarian Intervention to the Responsibility to Protect: Normative Evolution, Political Selectivity and The Crisis of Implementation
Öz
This article examines the transformation from humanitarian intervention to the doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) by analyzing its normative evolution, political selectivity and persistent implementation crisis. It addresses the following central research question: Does R2P constitute a genuine normative advancement in international law or does it merely reproduce the structural dilemmas of humanitarian intervention under a new terminology? Drawing on an analytical and interpretive approach, the study integrates theoretical debates with a comparative assessment of three key cases - Kosovo (1999), Libya (2011) and Syria (2011- ). The article first explores the conceptual and legal foundations of humanitarian intervention, then evaluates how R2P was institutionalized through the 2001 International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) Report, the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, UN Secretary-General reports and relevant Security Council resolutions. The empirical analysis demonstrates that Kosovo served as the moral catalyst of the R2P debate, Libya represented its first formal application but simultaneously triggered a legitimacy crisis due to the shift toward regime change and Syria constituted the most visible failure of the doctrine, revealing the paralyzing effects of geopolitical rivalries and Security Council vetoes. The findings suggest that while R2P redefined sovereignty through the lens of responsibility and sought to reconcile human rights protection with international peace and security, its implementation has remained highly selective and politically instrumentalized. The article concludes that R2P represents a partially realized normative project whose effectiveness is constrained by power politics and institutional asymmetries. Strengthening the future of the doctrine requires restoring the balance between legitimacy and effectiveness and ensuring that humanitarian imperatives are not overshadowed by strategic interests.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Etik Beyan
Kaynakça
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Ayrıntılar
Birincil Dil
İngilizce
Konular
Uluslararası İnsani ve İnsan Hakları Hukuku, Uluslararası Kamu Hukuku
Bölüm
Araştırma Makalesi
Yazarlar
Büşra Çeliköz
*
0000-0003-2720-5260
Türkiye
Yayımlanma Tarihi
27 Nisan 2026
Gönderilme Tarihi
18 Aralık 2025
Kabul Tarihi
25 Mart 2026
Yayımlandığı Sayı
Yıl 2026 Cilt: 21 Sayı: 1