Hollow Norms and the Responsibility to Protect

Description

This book explains why there is a pronounced disjuncture between R2P's habitual invocation and its actual influence, and why it will not make the transformative progress its proponents claim. Rather than disputing that R2P is a norm, or declaring that norms are insignificant, Hehir engages with post-positivist constructivist accounts on the role of norms to demonstrate first, that the efficacy of a norm is not directly related to the extent to which it is proliferated or invoked, and second, that in the post-institutionalization phase, norms undergo both contestation and (potentially regressive) reinterpretation. This volume analyses the evolution of R2P, and demonstrates that it has been steadily circumscribed and co-opted, so that today it has no power to meaningfully influence the behaviour of states. It is essential reading for academic audiences in the disciplines of International Relations and International Law. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Introduction: ‘R2P Has Begun to Change the World’ (Aidan Hehir)....Pages 1-28 The Rise of R2P and the Fall of Human Rights (Aidan Hehir)....Pages 29-55 R2P and the Limits of Norms (Aidan Hehir)....Pages 57-85 Sovereignty as Authority: State Support for R2P (Aidan Hehir)....Pages 87-115 Sovereignty as Liability: The Security Council and R2P (Aidan Hehir)....Pages 117-148 Norms and Mass Atrocities (Aidan Hehir)....Pages 149-181 Critics or Courtiers? R2P and the Status Quo (Aidan Hehir)....Pages 183-211 Conclusion: After Failure (Aidan Hehir)....Pages 213-223 Back Matter ....Pages 225-257