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View of military intervention as a violation of political rights and a soldier's right to life.

The role of foreign military intervention in African states has been a pervasive theme in the continent's political history since independence. The author of this book has followed these conflicts and has pieced together the complex chain of events that has involved the Soviet Union, Cuba, Libya, France and South Africa in domestic and interstate wars in Angola, Ethiopia, Chad, Mozambique, Somalia and elsewhere. He disentangles a complex skein of history, political ideology and ethnic conflict, to discern why African states invite intervention, why foreign states intervene and what their actions mean for the present and future stability and security of the continent

A review essay on books by (1) Neta Crawford, Argument and Change in World Politics: Ethics, Decolonization and Humanitarian Intervention (Cambridge: Cambridge U Press, 2002); (2) Martha Finnemore, The Purpose of Intervention: Changing Beliefs about the Use of Force (Ithaca, NY: Cornell U Press, 2003); & (3) Anthony F. Lang, Jr., Agency and Ethics: The Politics of Military Intervention (New York: State U New York Press, 2002). A number of theory-driven books have recently appeared on the subject of military intervention. The three under review in this article are timely in explicitly associating past colonial practice with more recent military adventures. Yet each author seems to suggest that colonial (& decolonization) practices actually reinforce the humanity of the West & the validity of recent 'humanitarian' justifications for war rather than expose much that is unseemly about contemporary interventionary practice. What is the source of this apparent paradox? One answer can be found in the theoretical framework of each book. Notwithstanding the extent to which the authors have sought to be self-reflective concerning power & critical of the International Relations mainstream, all offer legitimizations for imperial/humanitarian war in wide & problematic ways. Adapted from the source document.

"Drawing together researchers and practitioners from the academic, security, and defence community, this unique book investigates why countries go to war. It uncovers the conditions under which military deployments occur and what this means for future decisions involving the use of force. The book explores how recent experiences with military interventions, war weariness amongst publics, regional flash points, and the financial crisis, are factors that impact wartime decision-making. Given the diverse backgrounds of the contributors (academic experts, serving military officers, and defence scientists), the debate is vivid and rich, revealing the complexity of the issues that play into the decision to go to war. One of the key findings is that reasons for going to war have as much to do with domestic concerns as they do with international threats. Other conclusions of the book relate to the changing character of war, whether it is fewer military fatalities overall or the unpredictable impact the improvised explosive device had in Afghanistan and Iraq. As with all seemingly simple questions, the answers are multi dimensional. The authors in this volume demonstrate the depth and complexity of the question: Are we Going To War?"--

This paper studies the relations between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union in history to evaluate the importance of Afghanistan for the USSR and the Soviet decision to intervene military in 1979. (DÜI-Gbh)

Draws upon personal experiences during the 1999 Kosovo air campaign to discuss the probable characteristics of future military operations. The capacity for advanced technologies to provide new ways to conduct war is discussed. The US is currently the only nation with the military capability to project power globally, therefore, most interventions to protect people will be carried out by coalitions rather than individual countries. The increasing reluctance to intervene is examined, along with the parallel expansion of a human rights culture, & the domestic politicization of war. An analysis of the Kosovo air campaign points out that it was an intervention carried out by 19 democratic countries, without UN approval, for the purpose of halting massive human rights abuses. The campaign's remarkable success; criticisms of it by "military experts"; & the effect of public scrutiny are discussed. Examination of the implications of Kosovo for the direction of future warfare suggests that there will a revitalized focus on conflict prevention, & increasing reluctance to intervene militarily to save human lives, except in response to terrorist attacks. J. Lindroth