From The "failed State" To "responsibility To Protect": The Challenges Of International Intervention To Sovereignty Norms

Since the end of the Cold War, along with transformation of the international power structure, ethnic conflicts and strife which were suppressed by the pre-superpower emerged over and over again. Regional and internal conflicts became the main form of conflicts and some countries suffered various degrees of anarchy, accompanied with large-scale humanitarian catastrophe.For the anarchy in some countries, the international community began to intervene in various degrees. The United Nations form the peace-keeping operations in practice, whereas some big powers take part in the UN intervention actions, interfering in the internal affairs of another state, to achieve their own benefits. Especially after "the Kosovo crisis" at the end of the 20th century, humanitarian intervention triggered debates in the international community again. Some concepts, such as "Failed States" and "rogue states", were formed by some big powers, in order to interfere other states' internal affairs under the pretext of "humanitarian intervention".The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) raised the concept of "The Responsibility to Protect" in its report with the same name, to argue that sovereign states have a responsibility to protect their own citizens from avoidable catastrophe-from mass murder and rape, from starvation - but when they are unwilling or unable to do so, that responsibility must be borne by the broader community of states.The concept of "The responsibility to protect" is constructed under western view, with strong agreement on "human rights overriding sovereignty". The concept led the international legislation on military intervention, eroding the principle of sovereignty. This article will focus on the concept of "the responsibility to protect", differentiating similar concepts and looking through some international intervention cases, in order to analyze its meaning and its impact on the principle of sovereignty and problems in practice.The article argues that the anarchy in some states is existing objectively, Large-scale humanitarian disaster or genocide should not be turned a blind eye, but the disposal of these issues shouldn't be dominated by super powers. All sovereign countries should boast equal rights to participate in the process of international legislation.In the crisis in Darfur, some countries distorted the facts, arguing the occurrence of genocide in Darfur, in order to adopt coercive measures and military intervention. China's reservation about military intervention was attacked and challenged by some western countries and media. From the case, the article held the opinion that, as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and a developing country, China should gain experience from practice, breaking the discourse monopoly that established by western countries, to promote the establishment of a fair and rational international order.