R2P, Human Solidarity & Refugees

Project synopsis:

Despite the rapid growth in Responsibility to Protect literature there has been relatively little analysis on the relationship between the RtoP and Humanity. The RtoP discourse is built on the assumption that the battle of ideas has been won and that the focus now is on how, rather than whether, to save strangers. In many ways this is understandable. The action taken in crises such as Mali, South Sudan, the Central African Republic evidence that the international community is doing something, the problem it seems is implementation. That said, the lack of an appropriate response in relation to crises in countries such as Sir Lanka, Syria, and Myanmar re-raise unresolved questions about our moral instincts towards others. This has come to the forefront following the gross failure of ‘the West’ to fulfil its responsibility to protect refugees fleeing genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. Furthermore, we draw attention to the fact that humanity is often invoked as a catalyst for RtoP action by academics and policymakers. This is despite the fact that the relationship between RtoP remains grossly undertheorized. Addressing this lacuna, the ECR2P calls for interdisciplinary research from International Relations, Political Theory, History and International Law in order to gain a more informed understanding of the relationship between RtoP and humanity.

Research papers and recent publications in this area:

Gilgan, C (2018) Written evidence on UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on the Responsibility to Protect and Humanitarian Intervention, published July 2018.

Newman, E (2018) ‘The Limits of Liberal Humanitarianism in Europe: The ‘Responsibility to Protect’ and Forced Migration, European Review of International Studies, Vol.4, Issue 2-3, pp.59-77.

Gilgan, C.M. 2017. ‘Exploring the Link between R2P and Refugee Protection: Arriving at Resettlement’ Global Responsibility to Protect, Vol. 9, Issue 4, pp.366-394.

Ralph JG, Souter J (2017) Introduction: The Responsibility to Protect and the Refugee Protection Regime. Ethics and International Affairs. 31(1), pp. 47-50

'The Responsibility to Protect and Humanity', International Politics, Vol. 53, 1, 2016 8. Special Issue Edited by Adrian Gallagher and Garrett Brown. Contributions from Ken Booth (Aberystwyth University), contributors Michael Doyle (Columbia), Edward Newman (University of Leeds), Lars Waldorf (University of York), Matt Sleat (University of Sheffield), Henry Radice (London School of Economics), Graeme Davies (University of Leeds) and Robert Johns (University of Essex), David Patrick (University of the Free State), and Andreas Papamichail and Hannah Partis-Jennings (University of St. Andrews).

Gallagher, A. (2016) 'Conceptualising Humanity in the English School', International Theory 8: 2 (2016)

Souter, J. (2016) ‘Good international citizenship and special responsibilities to protect refugees’, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 18.4 (2016),341-364

Ralph J; Souter J. (2015) ‘A special responsibility to protect: The UK, Australia and the Rise of Islamic State’, International Affairs, 91.4 (2015), 709-723

Stefan, CG. (2009) “‘The Responsibility to Protect’: Embracing Sovereignty and Human Rights,” in Noha Shawki and Michaelene Cox, eds., Negotiating Sovereignty and Human Rights: Actors and Issues in Contemporary Human Rights Politics. Farnham: Ashgate (published as Cristina G. Badescu).

Stefan, CG. (2007) “Authorizing Humanitarian Intervention: Hard Choices in Saving Strangers,” Canadian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 40, Issue 1, pp. 51-78 (published as Cristina G. Badescu).