{"id":{"repo_id":"uwo","oai_identifier":"oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/30090"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwo/oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/30090","repository":{"repo_id":"uwo","name":"Western University","base_url":"https://uwo.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Ethics of Humanitarian Intervention","abstract":"This thesis investigates ethical debates that surround the definition, the conduct, and the occasions for humanitarian military intervention. I argue that properly-called humanitarian interventions must be directed by partly-altruistic intentions, and just war theorists should resist the emerging trend that discards right intention as a central requirement in favour of a more consequentialist analysis. I argue that interventions must be conducted in a manner that is consistent with the humanitarian purpose and would be accepted by the innocent non-combatants who are themselves risked by the rescue effort. This morally requires that interveners weigh harm to non-combatants particularly heavily in their proportionality assessments, even if that harm is merely an unintended side-effect of otherwise permissible acts, or even if that harm is primarily attributable to an aggressor’s anticipated unjust reprisal to intervention. The extraordinary justice of an intervener’s cause cannot license mass killing, and defenders of intervention should resist the urge to privilege abstract principles above policies that might better protect the most basic interests of innocent persons. In the end, I contend that the justified occasions for full-scale intervention will tend to be restricted to cases of mass-atrocities.","abstract_html":"This thesis investigates ethical debates that surround the definition, the conduct, and the occasions for humanitarian military intervention. I argue that properly-called humanitarian interventions must be directed by partly-altruistic intentions, and just war theorists should resist the emerging trend that discards right intention as a central requirement in favour of a more consequentialist analysis. I argue that interventions must be conducted in a manner that is consistent with the humanitarian purpose and would be accepted by the innocent non-combatants who are themselves risked by the rescue effort. This morally requires that interveners weigh harm to non-combatants particularly heavily in their proportionality assessments, even if that harm is merely an unintended side-effect of otherwise permissible acts, or even if that harm is primarily attributable to an aggressor’s anticipated unjust reprisal to intervention. The extraordinary justice of an intervener’s cause cannot license mass killing, and defenders of intervention should resist the urge to privilege abstract principles above policies that might better protect the most basic interests of innocent persons. In the end, I contend that the justified occasions for full-scale intervention will tend to be restricted to cases of mass-atrocities.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Porter, Amanda J."],"institution":"The University of Western Ontario","degree_name":"Ph D","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Philosophy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Brennan, Samantha J."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-12-15","date_published":"2010-12-15","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:56:11Z","subjects":["Humanitarian intervention","just war tradition","right intention","pacifism","proportionality."],"languages":["en_ca"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/30090","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Brennan, Samantha J."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Porter, Amanda J."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-10T18:36:58Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-10T18:36:58Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2010-12-15"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The University of Western Ontario"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph D"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Humanitarian intervention","just war tradition","right intention","pacifism","proportionality."]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_ca"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/30090"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis investigates ethical debates that surround the definition, the conduct, and the occasions for humanitarian military intervention. I argue that properly-called humanitarian interventions must be directed by partly-altruistic intentions, and just war theorists should resist the emerging trend that discards right intention as a central requirement in favour of a more consequentialist analysis. I argue that interventions must be conducted in a manner that is consistent with the humanitarian purpose and would be accepted by the innocent non-combatants who are themselves risked by the rescue effort. This morally requires that interveners weigh harm to non-combatants particularly heavily in their proportionality assessments, even if that harm is merely an unintended side-effect of otherwise permissible acts, or even if that harm is primarily attributable to an aggressor’s anticipated unjust reprisal to intervention. The extraordinary justice of an intervener’s cause cannot license mass killing, and defenders of intervention should resist the urge to privilege abstract principles above policies that might better protect the most basic interests of innocent persons. In the end, I contend that the justified occasions for full-scale intervention will tend to be restricted to cases of mass-atrocities."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Ethics of Humanitarian Intervention"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Brennan, Samantha J."],"dc:creator":["Porter, Amanda J."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-10T18:36:58Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-10T18:36:58Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2010-12-15"],"dc:description":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). 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This morally requires that interveners weigh harm to non-combatants particularly heavily in their proportionality assessments, even if that harm is merely an unintended side-effect of otherwise permissible acts, or even if that harm is primarily attributable to an aggressor’s anticipated unjust reprisal to intervention. The extraordinary justice of an intervener’s cause cannot license mass killing, and defenders of intervention should resist the urge to privilege abstract principles above policies that might better protect the most basic interests of innocent persons. 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