Moral Obligations and Sovereignty in International Relations

How has contemporary humanitarianism become the dominant framework for how states construct their moral obligations to non-citizens? This book examines the history of humanitarianism in international relations by tracing the relationship between transnational moral obligation and sovereignty from the 16th century to the present.

Autorentext

Andrea Paras is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph. She is a cross-disciplinary international relations scholar whose research contributes to political science, international development studies, history, intercultural studies, and the scholarship of learning and teaching. Her work focuses on understanding how different political actors derive their legitimacy through languages of morality. In addition to studying the history and politics of international humanitarianism, she conducts research on religion and humanitarianism, intercultural studies, and international education.

Inhalt

Introduction 1. An Identity-based Theory of Sovereignty and Moral Obligation 2. Religious Obligation, the Huguenots and the Emergence of English Sovereignty 3. Abolitionist Obligation, Liberty, and the Purpose of Empire 4. Colonial Obligation, Missionaries and the Civilizing Mission 5. Rights-based Obligation, the Responsibility to Protect and Conditional Sovereignty 6. Conclusion: Sovereignty and the Future of Moral Obligation