This chapter reviews the normative context (the state of the discourse and international practice regarding humanitarian intervention) circa 1945. It assesses the extent to which the debates surrounding the UN Charter and ancillary post-war human rights treaties established principles relevant to humanitarian intervention. It then turns to the Cold War and the immediate post-Cold War period to chronicle how specific crises triggered the development of humanitarian intervention norms. Finally, the chapter provides a more detailed examination of the debates surrounding intervention in Somalia, Rwanda, and Bosnia, with a brief discussion of the Darfur situation.
Keywords: international law, international norms, normative change, human rights, intervention norms, Cold War, UN Charter, Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia,