Do norms matter in international relations? A constructivist approach on Operation Artemis Cover Image

Contează normele în relaţiile internaţionale? O abordare constructivistă a operaţiunii Artemis
Do norms matter in international relations? A constructivist approach on Operation Artemis

Author(s): Daniela Iuliana Radu
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences
Published by: Fundaţia »Societatea Civilă« (FSC)
Keywords: Operation Artemis; constitutive norms; constructivism; realism; humanitarian intervention

Summary/Abstract: The goal of this paper is to illustrate how the European Union’s decision for military and humanitarian intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003 (Operation Artemis) was based upon an European consensus that was crystallized around humanitarian norms as constitutive norms of collective behavior. Our research exploits the theoretical constructivist perspective of Martha Finnemore, who demonstrates that the norms upon which humanitarian interventions are carried out may change in the course of time and that the protection of material interests is not the sole explanation for the decision to intervene military for humanitarian purposes. We consider that an explanation for the intervention that is founded on the emphatic character of norms is susceptible of suggesting compulsory instruments to counterbalance the statocentric thesis and to make up the explanatory model for the European intervention within the framework of Operation Artemis.

  • Issue Year: 2010
  • Issue No: 152
  • Page Range: 30-38
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: Romanian