This study draws on the theories of pluralism and solidarism from the English School to analyze the approaches of Security Council members towards the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in Libya and Syria. Using Stephen Toulmin's model of argumentation analysis, the study also provides a normative critique of these arguments. The study illuminates the divergent positions taken by the permanent members of the UN Security Council in the context of R2P during the crises in Syria and Libya. The analysis uncovers two starkly different approaches. On one side, representatives from Great Britain, France, and the United States advocate for the protection of human rights, democracy, and freedom. On the other side, representatives from Russia and China prioritize state sovereignty and the maintenance of order and stability. This stark contrast underscores the complexity and challenges inherent in implementing R2P. The study also highlights the concrete arguments and approaches taken by the Security Council’s permanent members. This provides a detailed understanding of how these differences manifest in practice and how they affect decision-making in the Security Council.  Based on the normative analysis, The study found that the normative frameworks of pluralism and solidarism offer distinct perspectives on human rights and state sovereignty, influencing the strength of the permanent members' arguments. Pluralism emphasizes state sovereignty and non-intervention, showing skepticism towards R2P, while solidarism highlights the protection of human rights and supports international interventions, aligning with R2P principles. In practice, examples like Libya and Syria have demonstrated the complexity and challenges of implementing R2P. In the case of Libya, NATO's intervention led to significant loss of life and destabilization, questioning the legitimacy and effectiveness of the actions. This situation has underscored the difficulty of balancing the protection of human rights with respect for state sovereignty. The integration of Responsibility While Protecting is proposed in R2P's third pillar to ensure responsible and effective humanitarian interventions.

Reform of the UN Security Council and a stumbling block associated with it - abstract This thesis deals with matter of the Security Council reform, the most crucial body of the United Nations. It examines approaches of eleven specific countries which are divided into two groups. The first group is comprised by permanent members of the Security Council, the second one by states which, in case of their creation, could claim new permanent seats in this body. This thesis examines not only their real policies, but also their policies from theoretical - specifically neorealistic - point of view. Two different hypotheses were deduced from neorealism which were tested and subsequently evaluated as (in)valid. Hypothesis emerging from a standard neorealism put emphasis on policy whose goal is to maintain, alternatively to increase a state's autonomy (autonomy-seeking policy). International organizations are viewed as entity which limits, to some extent, this autonomy. On the other hand, hypothesis emerging from a modified neorealism put emphasis on policy whose goal is to gain, alternatively to increase influence on other actors (influence-seeking policy). On the contrary, within this policy international organizations are an useful entity because it is possible to achieve such an influence by means of them. In the...

This thesis explores the pressing need for reform within the United Nations Security Council, a key organization in global governance, in the form of a case study. The main purpose of the research is to understand how its reform could enhance its legitimacy while attending to the possible opposition from the USA, China, and Russia. It encompasses historical information, from the League of Nations to the reform proposals throughout history, culminating in the present debates, as well as useful theoretical approaches for the analysis. Through the Syrian Civil War, it describes the Council struggle to handle contemporary geopolitical issues. The insights of the Intergovernmental Negotiations Framework and the Elements Paper are crucial to research the current reform debates, and other literature from scholars, International Organizations and media are also employed. The analysis investigates the research question and hypothesis, and the conclusion helps summarize the findings. The thesis serves as a call for a better articulated Security Council that can better confront the complexities of our multipolar world with effectivity and effectiveness.

The thesis examines the international law pertaining to the use of force by states, in general, and to the use of force in self-defence, in particular. The main question addressed is whether the use of force, which was purported to be in self-defence, by the United States, the United Kingdom and their allies against al Qaeda, the Taliban and Afghanistan, beginning on 7 October 2001, was lawful. The thesis focuses not only on this specific use of force, but also on the changing nature of conflict, the definition of terrorism and on the historical evolution of limitations on the use of force, from antiquity until 2006. In the six chapters which trace the epochs of international law, the progression of five inter-related concepts is followed: limitations on the resort to force generally, the use of force in self-defence, pre-emptive self-defence, the use of forcible measures short of war, and the use of force in response to non-state actors. This historical analysis includes a particular emphasis on understanding the meaning of the 'inherent right of self-defence', which was preserved by Article 51 of the United Nations' Charter. This analysis is then applied to the use of force against Afghanistan which occurred in 2001. Following the terrorist attacks of 11 September, the US and the UK notified the United Nations Security Council of their resort to force in self-defence under Article 51. Each element of Article 51 is analysed and the thesis concludes that there are significant doubts as to the lawfulness of that decision to employ force. In addition to the self-defence justification, other possible grounds for intervention are also examined, such as humanitarian intervention, Security Council authorisation and intervention by invitation. This thesis challenges the common assumption that the use of force against Afghanistan was an example of states exercising their inherent right to self-defence. It argues that if this particular use of force is not challenged, it will lead to an expansion of the right of self-defence which will hinder rather than enhance international peace and security. Finally, this thesis draws on recent examples to illustrate the point that the use of force against Afghanistan could become a dangerous precedent for the use of force in self-defence.

Today, an estimated 65,3 million people are reported as forcibly displaced globally. This figure includes 40,8 million people who are considered to be internally displaced within their own country and therefore rely upon the protection of their state. State sovereignty implies that the main responsibility for the protection of its people lies with the state. In situations where the state fails or is unwilling to fulfill its duty to protect the population, the principle of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) can be applied to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. The purpose of this study is to review to what extent R2P provides protection for the rights of internally displaced persons and how R2P relates to the notion of human security. The theoretical framework is based on the concepts of human dignity, sovereignty, human security and R2P. Argumentation analysis was used in order to be able to compare the different arguments within the R2P discourse to determine whether the principle provides legitimate means for protection or not. The study shows that R2P provides several legitimate means for the protection of internally displaced people. Especially when it comes to measures preventing people from becoming displaced. However, the protection measures towards people already internally displaced can in several instances be regerded as insufficent and illegitimate. This is mainly due to the fact that the UN can undermine the legitimacy of the principle e.g. by obstructing aid support with veto decisions or lack strategies for reconstruction. The cooperation with other actors (AU, ICC) also shows that the protection of internally displaced persons may vary between states.

Le principal reproche qui est adressé au droit international est la faiblesse de ses mécanismes de sanctions. Pour cette raison, plusieurs penseurs juridiques ont conclu que le droit international n'existait pas. Le présent mémoire vise donc à étudier la rhétorique derrière cette affirmation et à examiner sa validité. Pour ce faire, nous analysons dans un premier temps la relation entre la sanction et le droit à travers le cadre positiviste du XIXe siècle. Nous étudions tour à tour les soi-disant critères constitutifs de la sanction. Nous les comparons avec d'autres ordres non juridiques pour ensuite rejeter le postulat positiviste qui fait de la contrainte et de la centralisation des pouvoirs les éléments essentiels de la sanction. Nous étudions ensuite le cadre d'adoption des sanctions économiques du Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies. Cette étape nous permet d'expliquer les principales faiblesses et limitations du droit international. Parmi celles-ci, le manque de coopération internationale, le droit de veto et le principe de la souveraineté nationale sont les éléments qui freinent l'adoption des sanctions coopération internationale. Nous examinons ensuite les objectifs derrière l'imposition des sanctions ainsi que leur efficacité. Finalement, nous étudions les embargos en général et les embargos sur les armes. Cette étude nous permet d'une part de démontrer les effets des sanctions économiques sur la population civile et sur les États tiers. D'autre part, elle nous permet de mieux comprendre les problèmes relatifs à l'administration d'une sanction, ainsi qu'aux mesures de contournement des interdictions. / The fundamental criticism addressed to internationallaw denounces the weaknesses of its sanctions mechanisms. For this reason, severallegal thinkers conc1uded to the inexistence of international law. The present text studies the rhetoric behind this statement and examines its validity. To do so, we analyze in the first place the relationship between sanction and law through the positivist framework of the XIXth Century. We examine in turn the so-called fundamental elements of sanction. We compare these elements with different non-Iegal orders so that we can ultimately reject the positivist theory according to which coercion and centralization ofpower are the fundamental elements of sanction. Chapter II examines the United Nations Security Council framework for adopting economic sanctions. This step allows us to underline the main sources ofweaknesses and limitations of internationallaw. In this respect we observe that the lack of international cooperation is the major weakness of internationallaw. Furthermore, an analysis of the relevant dispositions of the United Nations Charter shows that the veto right and the principle of international sovereignty are two elements that hamper international cooperation. We then study the objectives behind the adoption of sanctions as well as their effectiveness. Finally, we study general embargoes as well as arms embargos. This inquiry allows us to focus on the effects of economic sanctions on both civilians and third States. It also helps us understand the problems with regard to the administration of a sanction, as well as the ways to bypass the prohibitions.

L’Afrique est, depuis quelques décennies, « la zone stratégique la plus déstabilisée de la planète ». La question des conflits armés constitue un véritable « casse-tête africain » aussi bien pour les acteurs locaux qu’internationaux qui s’y intéressent en ce que son caractère interne contraste avec les conséquences transnationales qui en résultent.Comment sortir de cette insécurité chronique et de la guerre civile qui guette en permanence derrière le rideau et parvenir à une stabilité et un développement durables afin de limiter au mieux les nombreuses violations des droits de l’homme occasionnées à cet effet?Des approches de solution n’ont pas manqué, allant de la solution militaire, peu respectueuse des vies humaines, à la solution négociée qui appelle au génie créatif de l’homme et de son intelligence, soucieuse de préserver le genre humain en « imaginant » ou en « inventant » des compromis inscrits dans des accords, essentiellement, politiques. C’est donc, à juste titre, que l’objet de notre étude porte sur cette question africaine traduite par un intitulé très actuel : « Les accords politiques dans la résolution des conflits armés internes en Afrique ». L’analyse envisagée dans la présente étude expose la conclusion des accords politiques en insistant distinctement sur l’environnement politique de leur formation ainsi que le cadre juridique qui les caractérise, d’une part. D’autre part, il paraît indiqué d’examiner l’application de ces accords en décortiquant la feuille de route dans laquelle ils évoluent en vue d’en dresser un bilan scientifiquement objectif afin de mesurer l’effectivité de leur mise en œuvre et leur efficacité en matière de protection des droits de l’homme. / Since some decades, Africa is «the most destabilized strategic area of the plane. » the issue of armed conflicts represent a real «African puzzle» as well for local actors as international ones who are involve in, with its internal characteristic contrast with the transnational consequences which result from.How to get out of this chronically in security and the civil war which permanently watch out behind curtain in order to reach sustainable development and stability in order to better limit numerous violations of human rights done in that fact?Some approaches of solution are numerous, going from military solution less respecting human lives, to the negociated solutions which call for the human genius and his intelligent, anxious to preserve human gender by «imaging» or by « inventing» Compromises signed in agreements, essentially political. Its then, precisely that African issue translated by an updated heading: agreements in the resolution of internal armed conflits in Africa. »The analysis considered in the present study will expose the conclusion of political agreements by insisting distinctly on political environment, their formation as well on the legal framework which characterizes them, on one hand. On the other hand, it seems important to examine the application of those agreements by analyzing in details the agenda in which they evoluate in order to draw up scientifically the balance sheet of the objective in order to assess the affectivity of their implementation and their effectiveness in domain of human rights protection.

Si l’explosion du système Est-Ouest marque la fin de l’idée de confrontation globale en tant que modèle de la guerre depuis la fin du second conflit mondial, on doit plus fondamentalement s’interroger sur les changements intervenus depuis les années 90 en ce qui concerne le statut de la guerre elle-même et sur le rôle des opérations de paix dans les relations internationales. Les crises politiques découlant de conflits internes sont des sources de déstabilisation et de fragilisation des institutions locales qui subissent le tumulte et affaiblissent la capacité des acteurs à sortir d’une telle situation politique. La nécessité de renforcer les capacités locales pendant cette période charnière afin d’éviter les crises récurrentes se traduit par la présence de la Communauté internationale qui déploie une multitude de stratégies. Il existe en effet, dans la grammaire des Nations Unies, un continuum de modes de gestion des crises qui va des formes les plus réservées de la persuasion à certaines modalités de diplomatie coercitive, impliquant un usage limité de la violence. Lorsqu’on examine les opérations de paix en RDC, un ensemble dynamique de tensions et de liaisons, oscillant entre ordre et désordre dans ses expressions institutionnelles, le constat qui se dégage est que la question de la paix exige une analyse qui prenne en compte plusieurs facteurs. D’où le recours à une approche interdisciplinaire, mobilisant des courants critiques au sein des relations internationales tout en alliant la sociologie des relations internationales. Notre approche interdisciplinaire qui est au centre de cette thèse peut aussi être d’un grand intérêt dans le renforcement de l’approche polémologique, elle-même fort utile pour appréhender les modalités de gouvernance par les groupes politico-militaires. Notre étude s’attache à évaluer la pertinence et la cohérence des pratiques et conduites des acteurs internationaux pour mieux dégager les contours axiologiques et idéologiques de la gestion des crises itératives. / If the explosion of the East/West system marks the end of the idea of global confrontation as model of the war since the end of the second world conflict, we more fundamentally have to wonder about the changes which took place since the 90s as regards the status of the very war and about the role of the peace operations in the international relations. The political crises ensuing from internal conflicts are sources of destabilization and weakening of the local institutions which undergo the tumult and weaken the capacity of the actors to go out of such a political situation. The necessity of strengthening the local capacities during this pivotal period to avoid the recurring crises is translated by the presence of the international community which spreads a multitude of strategies. There is indeed in the grammar of United Nations a continuum in the modes of crises’ management which goes the most reserved forms of the persuasion to certain modalities of coercive diplomacy, implying a use limited by the violence. When we examine the peace operations in RDC, dynamic set tensions and connections, oscillating between order and disorder in its institutional expressions, the report which gets free is that the question of the peace requires an analysis which takes into account several factors. Hence the use of an interdisciplinary approach, involving both critical currents in international relations (critical constructivism) while combining the sociology of international relations. Our study attempts to estimate the relevance and the coherence of the practices and the conducts of the international actors in a better way axiological and ideological outlines of the management of the iterative crises.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / This thesis focuses on the regional response to the crisis in Colombia. The major conclusions of the thesis are that the crisis directly affects the security of Colombia's neighbors; that the use of military force will be the most important element in a strategy to restore security and that the Colombian military will require external military assistance to do so; that while Colombia's neighbors have traditionally rejected ideas of intervention, there are indications that they may be willing to participate in such an endeavor; and that while less politically risky courses of action are more likely to occur, a regional military force operating in a peacemaking role will be the most effective course of action towards restoring security in Colombia and the region. These conclusions are reached through an examination of the conflict's effect on Colombia and its neighbors, the capabilities of the Colombian security forces, the history of regional cooperative efforts, and recent political rhetoric and policy decisions region-wide. / Major, United States Marine Corps

L'absence de définition du crime international d’agression, qualifié pourtant comme la mère de tous les crimes internationaux, par la Cour pénale internationale ainsi que l'incapacité du Conseil de sécurité de qualifier et de sanctionner de telles violations afin d’établir la justice et la paix internationales, participent au fait que l’agression, au travers du recours à la force armée, reste malheureusement de nos jours une vieille tradition aussi fréquente que dangereuse. Au-delà de la difficulté conceptuelle, il existe une autre difficulté difficilement surmontable sur les scènes nationale et internationale, à savoir la question de la répression de ces guerres. L’absence d’identification des auteurs et la non reconnaissance des victimes conduisent à une totale impunité, source de répétition de cette violation, par les grandes puissances. Afin de savoir s’il est réaliste et opportun de poursuivre les auteurs de ce crime en tant qu’acte de l’État sans cependant oublier principalement la dimension individuelle de l'acte, l'objet de cette recherche a été de déterminer tous les recours possibles tant par la voie judiciaire que par la voie politique (l’ONU, les organisations régionales, les parlements nationaux, l’opinion publique). Concernant la voie judiciaire, il s'est agi d'analyser tant la répression par le juge interne (dans les systèmes français, allemand, américain et anglais) que par le juge international devant la Cour pénale International et les autres tribunaux internationaux.Cette thèse s’efforce de faire une présentation de toutes les possibilités réelles d’engager la responsabilité pour crime international d'agression, aussi bien en ce qui concerne l’agression en tant que faute politique majeure que comme crime, l’étude de ces deux aspects étant dressée par une analyse des obstacles rencontrés par l’application du droit international et national dans le contexte du crime d’agression. / The lack of definition of the international crime of aggression, described as the mother of all international crimes, by the International Criminal Court, and the inability of the Security Council to qualify and punish such violations to establish justice and peace, participate that the aggression, through the use of armed force, remains unfortunately nowadays a tradition as often as dangerous. Beyond the conceptual difficulty, there is another problem that is as difficult to overcome in the national and international scenes, namely identifying the way to repress these wars. The lack of identification of the authors of these wars and the non-recognition of the victims lead to lack of punishment which is the main source of repetition of the violations by the great powers.In order to know whether it is realistic and appropriate to prosecute this crime as an act of the State, without forgetting the individual dimension of the act, the purpose of this research was to identify all remedies whether through the courts or by political means (the UN, regional organizations, national parliaments, public opinion). Concerning judicial matters, this research analyzes internal repression by the judge (in the French, German, American and English systems) and by the international judge to the International Criminal Court and other international tribunals. This thesis aims to present all real possibilities of engagement and liabilities for international crimes of aggression, whether these are treated as major political mistakes or crimes, through an analysis of the obstacles encountered by the application of international and domestic laws in the context of crimes of aggression.