A Decolonial Critique Of The Western Humanitarian Intervention

This study examines colonial legacies in the international humanitarian intervention by Western countries in the 2011 Libyan crisis through the prism of Decoloniality.By analysing the decision-making of Resolution 1973 and The North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO)’s enforcement of the resolution in Libya,this study concluded that the UN-sanctioned and NATO-led armed intervention is an imperial design under the guise of humanitarian principles to pursue neo-colonial ends.This study further highlights that former colonies,especially Africa remains entrapped in the logic of coloniality of power in the modern Euro-North America-centred world order.This study argues that the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 authorising military intervention was adopted under the pressure of former colonial powers.France and Britain took advantage of their supremacy inside the Council to advocate for a resolution justifying their attack against Libya under the rhetoric of Responsibility to Protect,an inherently Eurocentric and colonial concept implying that the West has the moral obligation to intervene in the affairs of the Rest.In addition,the Western media accelerated the decision by demonising the Libya leader and overstating the situation on the ground.This study suggests that during the implementation of the resolution,the Western interveners exceeded their mandate by using force to bring about regime change and deliberately abandoning peaceful alternatives.Arguably,the West-led implementation of the resolution was driven by neo-colonial interest rather than ethical and moral motives,focusing on regime change rather than a peaceful settlement.However,in the Euro-North Americacentred world order,the lack of coercive supervisory power within the Security Council allows for interveners to abuse the Council’s resolutions and pursue the goals on their agenda without being held accountable.Drawing on decolonial theory,to contest the Western dominance in the world order and produce counter-discourse and counter-practices,this study suggests that it is necessary to empower the African Union in regional issues and humanitarian interventions.It is also important to establish supervisory and restrictive mechanisms within the framework of the United Nations for international humanitarian intervention,so as to foster the development of international interventions in a more objective and equitable way.