Introduction: States as Global Citizens
When and why do some states protect helpless foreigners from the abuses of their own governments, distant wars, and global crises? In a relentlessly troubled world, some states are part of the solution. Humanitarian internationalism is more than episodic altruism—it is a pattern of persistent principled politics. Although global Good Samaritans are clearly a minority of states, they add up to more than scattered exceptions, and the small circle of like-minded states can be key initiators or swing votes on important humanitarian developments, from the antiapartheid campaign to the land mines treaty. The metaphor of the “global Good Samaritan” highlights the critical elements of human rights foreign policy. The defining principle of a Good Samaritan is that he identifies with the interests of the Other: “Love your neighbor as yourself”. The remainder of this book explores why and how states become global Good Samaritans.
Keywords: human rights, Good Samaritan, humanitarian internationalism, globalization
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .