Humanitarian Intervention: "Why do states intervene in some humanitarian crises and not others?"

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict Studies, Security, grade: Distinction, Macquarie University, course: IRPG 840 The International System, language: English, abstract: This paper will argue, that the decision to intervene or not, depends on political will to do so, which itself derives from a correlation between anticipated costs and benefits. Intervention will occur only when, under consideration of all factors, the benefits outweigh the costs. After a brief review of cold war conditions, this essay will concentrate on key factors, which influence political will for humanitarian intervention in the post cold war era. All factors will be considered by supportive cases compared to Rwanda as an example for lacking political will.