A half-century ago, the international community made a solemn promise to "never again" allow genocide to go unchallenged. In the early days of the post Cold War "New World Order" though, international leaders failed to stop horrific genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda, chiefly because Western leaders lack the political will to use decisive force to suppress ongoing genocide. Despite increased attention paid to war crimes issues in the Clinton Administration, and increased rhetoric about its commitment to halting genocide, ...
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A half-century ago, the international community made a solemn promise to "never again" allow genocide to go unchallenged. In the early days of the post Cold War "New World Order" though, international leaders failed to stop horrific genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda, chiefly because Western leaders lack the political will to use decisive force to suppress ongoing genocide. Despite increased attention paid to war crimes issues in the Clinton Administration, and increased rhetoric about its commitment to halting genocide, American military force policy still gives lowest priority to responding to gross abuses of human rights. This is an attempt to explain why the international community fails to prevent, suppress, and punish contemporary genocide. Integrating political, military, legal, and ethical pieces, a more complete and clearer picture of the challenge facing the world today emerges. This multi-level analysis of genocide's impact upon world order looks at the interplay of politics and morality in the international community's decisions about the appropriate role for military force in halting genocide and securing an emerging global civil society. Campbell recommends practical steps the international community can take to greatly improve its response the next time genocide occurs - a "next time" that will occur.
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