Post-Intervention Reconstruction and the Responsibility to Rebuild

Social Sciences, vol. 11, pp. 368

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between the responsibility to rebuild and post-intervention reconstruction. It aims to determine whether the current interpretation of the responsibility to rebuild is the appropriate framework for attaining the goals of post-intervention reconstruction. The article argues that, despite the urgent need for a post-intervention strategy in the aftermath of humanitarian interventions, the responsibility to rebuild, as it is currently being framed, can end up undermining the goals of post-conflict reconstruction by dissuading states from participating in atrocity prevention, inadvertently increasing atrocity crimes and delegitimizing military humanitarian interventions. The analysis identifies the need for the responsibility to rebuild to incorporate an increased respect for post bellum proportionality and self-determination.

Authors 1

1. Athanasios Stathopoulos corresponding Aachen International Studies

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   International Studies, Leiden University, 2511 VA The Hague, The Netherlands