Why read In the Cause of Humanity?

Book cover of In the Cause of Humanity: A History of Humanitarian Intervention in the Long Nineteenth Century

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In the Cause of Humanity is a major new history of the emergence of the theory and practice of humanitarian intervention during the nineteenth century when the question of whether, when and how the international community should react to violations of humanitarian norms and humanitarian crises first emerged as a…

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European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked In the Cause of Humanity as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Julia F. Irwin

Author

This book opened my eyes to the long and fraught history of humanitarian interventions–that is, military operations conducted in the name of protecting people from harm and suffering.

In recent decades, we have witnessed fierce debates over the legitimacy of these activities (in places like Rwanda, the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria). Yet, as this book persuasively shows, such concerns are nothing new. Across the nineteenth century, government leaders and citizens debated–and undertook–many so-called “wars for humanity.”

With examples stretching from the Middle East to Africa to the Americas, this book raises provocative and important ethical questions about humanitarianism and…

From Julia's list on the origins of modern humanitarianism and its consequences for the contemporary world.