THE SOLIDARIST DISCOURSE AND HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION. REVISITING SOVEREIGNITY, RESPONSIBILITY AND MORALITY IN GLOBAL POLITICS
THE SOLIDARIST DISCOURSE AND HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION. REVISITING SOVEREIGNITY, RESPONSIBILITY AND MORALITY IN GLOBAL POLITICS

Summary/Abstract: The post-Second World War international order was based on the idea of order among states, as embedded in the United Nations’ system. This principle shaped state behaviour with respect to the sanctity of sovereignty and the rule of non-intervention in states’ internal affairs. However, the promotion of human rights at home and abroad ran parallel, as secondary principle of the UN system, and centred on justice within states. For a long time, order among states (meaning absence of inter-state armed conflict and non-intervention in state’s domestic affairs) and promotion of justice within states (meaning the need to promote human rights as global responsibility, even if this infringes upon state sovereignty) were perceived as mutually exclusive.This paper tackles solidarism and humanitarian intervention and analyses the core arguments of the solidarist discourse. By revisiting the concept of state sovereignty, solidarists try to reconcile the tension between order among states and justice within states. Building on moral and legal arguments, solidarism tries to shape state behaviour in international politics by drawing attention to the global responsibility to protect. Methodologically, the underlying research question is: what are the main pillars of the solidarist discourse with respect to humanitarian intervention?

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