IREb2005 Humanitarian Intervention

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Kateřina Fridrichová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Kateřina Fridrichová, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! IRE205 Humanitarian Intervention && !NOW( IRE205 Humanitarian Intervention ) && ! MVZb2005 Humanitarian Intervention && !NOW( MVZb2005 Humanitarian Intervention )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 40 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/40, only registered: 0/40
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course is designed to introduce students to the concept and practice of humanitarian intervention. It will be presented in the context of international law, history of the international system, history of thought and state practice. It will be also discussed in the terms of contemporary and future developments. Emphasis will be on the historical cases of both humanitarian intervention and non-intervention.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able
to discuss humanitarian intervention in its historical and systemic context
to discuss the basic dilemmas of contemporary HIs
analyse a severe humanitarian crisis and following intervention/non-intervention in terms of actors, international context and post-conflict consequences
Syllabus
  • Introduction to humanitarian intervention - definitions, terms, basic dilemmas
  • Humanitarian intervention in the international law and theory
  • The case for non-intervention
  • Humanitarian intervention in the history - from pre-modern to WW1 + case studies (anti-slavery campaign, Armenian genocide, Ottoman empire interventions)
  • Intervention during the Cold War: UN Charter, Security Council, bipolarity + case studies (Vietnam, Tanzania, India)
  • 1990s and the decade of humanitarian intervention - Kurdistan, Rwanda, Kosovo + case studies (Somalia, East Timor, Haiti, Liberia, Sierra Leone)
  • R2P debate, subsequent development, Libya and Syria
  • Worldviews and actors: islam, China, Russia, third-world countries
Literature
    required literature
  • HEHIR, Aidan. Hollow norms and the responsibility to protect. 1st edition. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019, xiii, 257. ISBN 9783030080389. info
  • The emergence of humanitarian intervention : ideas and practice from the nineteenth century to the present. Edited by Fabian Klose. First published. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016, ix, 364. ISBN 9781107075511. info
  • FRIDRICHOVÁ, Kateřina. Humanitarian intervention. In Zdeněk Kříž, Jana Urbanovská. Examining Armed Conflict. Theoretical Reflections on Selected Aspects. 1st ed. Brno: Muni PRESS, 2014, p. 69-86. ISBN 978-80-210-7035-6. info
  • Humanitarian intervention : a history. Edited by Brendan Simms - D. J. B. Trim. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011, xv, 408. ISBN 9780521190275. URL info
    not specified
  • BAYLIS, John, Steve SMITH and Patricia OWENS. The globalization of world politics : an introduction to international relations. 9th edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023, xxiii, 623. ISBN 9780192898142. info
Teaching methods
lectures, class discussion, group work, reading, writing
Assessment methods
1 collaborative project (case study) consisting of research and presentation (10 points presentation, 20 points paper) during the semester (student is required to be present during presentation session)
participation (up to 3 points per session - taking the form of a short written reflection or a short quiz on assigned reading/ participation in discussion or learning activity)
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2025/IREb2005