Hard Choices : Moral Dilemmas in Humanitarian Intervention

Since Somalia, the international community has changed its view of humanitarian intervention - paying special attention to the complexity of issues and moral challenges involved.

Operations designed to alleviate suffering and achieve peace sometimes produce damaging results.

The United Nations, nongovernmental organizations, military and civilian agencies alike find themselves in the midst of confusion and weakness where what they seek are clarity and stability.

Competing needs, rights and values can obscure even the best international efforts to quell violence and assuage crises of poverty.

This volume of original essays by international policy leaders, social commentators and scholars brings together insights into the conflicting moral pressures present in different kinds of interventions ranging from Rwanda and Somalia to Haiti, Cambodia and Bosnia.

From their various cultural and professional perspectives the authors cover issues of human rights, sanctions, arms trade, refugees, HIV and the media.

Together they make the case that, although there are no easy answers, moral reflection and content can improve the quality of decision making and intervention into internal conflicts.