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Russian Intervention in Crimea and the Question of Responsibility to Protect

The Russian Federation has claimed that its unilateral intervention in Crimea represents a case for Responsibility to Protect. This study investigates how the international community reacts to and determines a case of Responsibility to Protect. Three criteria to justify use of Responsibility to Protect are created from an analysis of international deliberations in previous interventions in Côte d'Ivoire (2010), Libya (2011), and Syria (2011). The Russian Federation involvement in Kosovo is analyzed in order to better understand its stance regarding intervention in Crimea. Classification as Responsibility to Protect requires (1) the case must have confirmed human rights violations; (2) the state must demonstrate that the human rights violations are more important than the state's sovereignty; and, (3) the state must use the multilateral system in the United Nations Security Council. The Russian Federation's intervention in Crimea constitutes a case for Responsibility to Protect to a minimal extent as their case did not have confirmed human rights violations and did not intervene multilaterally through the United Nations Security Council. / Master of Arts / The Russian Federation has claimed that its unilateral intervention in Crimea represents a case for Responsibility to Protect. The study investigates how the international community reacts to and determines a case of Responsibility to protect. By analyzing the humanitarian intervention of Kosovo and the prior Responsibility to Protect cases of Côte d'Ivoire (2010), Libya (2011), and Syria (2011), three criteria are established to determine if use of Responsibility to Protect is appropriate. The case of Kosovo is analyzed since the Russian Federation used this to further justify its intervention in Crimea. Classification as Responsibility to Protect requires the following: (1) the case must have confirmed human rights violations; (2) the state must demonstrate that the human rights violations are more important than the state's right to rule over its own population; and, (3) the state must use the multilateral system in the United Nations Security Council. The Russian Federation's intervention in Crimea constitutes a case for Responsibility to Protect to a minimal extent only since its case did not have confirmed human rights violations and did not intervene multilaterally through the United Nations Security Council.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/98537
Date22 May 2020
CreatorsDorsch, Jessica Frances
ContributorsPolitical Science, Stivachtis, Yannis A., Brantly, Aaron F., Luke, Timothy W.
PublisherVirginia Tech
Source SetsVirginia Tech Theses and Dissertation
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
FormatETD, application/pdf, application/pdf
RightsIn Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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