Humanitarian intervention is imperialist because states only intervene when it is in their interest to do so. When a state commits to intervene militarily in another’s affairs, that state weakens international law and infringes upon state sovereignty, which has been the basis of international relations since the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. It is significant that states only intervene militarily when it is in their own interests, because it is within this context of ‘interest’ that Western humanitarian intervention becomes imperialist.
Humanitarian intervention is the use of military force, often by the West, in pursuit of humanitarian ends rather than in pursuit of more strategic goals. For example, the intervention may be to uphold human rights in a state where they are being infringed upon, rather than seeking to gain access to resources or to cause regime change. However, particularly in twentyfirst century interventions, Western states have advanced strategic goals through the veil of humanitarian interventions.
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