Suveränitet kontra humanitär intervention i Libyen 2011

Abstract

For one month during the beginning of 2011, the world followed the violent events in Libya. During this time the United Nations was faced with a complex question, could they handle the ongoing violence and find a solution to the killings or would the hostile situation go on. We now know what happened, but not why. It is this question that this essay aims to answer. This essay covers the discussion of sovereignty on the one hand and humanitarian intervention on the other and responsibility to protect in between. This essay will examine a thesis regarding the location of the country and the connection to the way to react to the internal conflicts of other nations. The thesis is based upon the discussion concerning eastern countries and their connection to the principle of sovereignty and the western countries relation to humanitarian intervention. The aim of this article is to see whether this is correct in the chosen situation, the violence in Libya during February to March 2011. It is therefore a discussion on a theoretical level that is being tested in practice. This essay enlightens the problematic situation that occurs when one reason is being demonstrated as the one and only motive for a country to act in one way.