Humanitarian Intervention, Foreign

At the close of the Cold War, the United States and the Global North found themselves engaged in humanitarian intervention missions across the world. Joined together under the banners of the United Nations (UN) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Western governments intervened in failed states plagued by political instability, ethnic tension, and famine. Despite intentions to stabilize worsening conditions, politicians and military forces struggled to find a strategy in the balance between doing too little and going too far. This entry discusses the post–Cold War evolution of humanitarian intervention, including the principles, motivations, and lessons of international humanitarian interventions.