Graduation Year
2018
Date of Submission
4-2018
Document Type
Campus Only Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
International Relations
Reader 1
Katja Favretto
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
2018 Lauren E Mounts
Abstract
This thesis seeks to identify the factors necessary to drive the United States to intervene in a humanitarian crisis. While some scholars have argued that humanitarianism in and of itself is a sufficient reason for an armed military intervention – I challenge this assumption and argue that while the United States can exhibit humanitarian impulses at times, that there are very observable limitations to these impulses. I argue that while humanitarianism can be a factor in the decision to intervene, that ultimately either national interest or another domestic political channel must also fervently push for intervention in order for action to occur. In testing my hypothesis, I examine American foreign policy in four modern humanitarian crises – Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Syria.
Recommended Citation
Mounts, Lauren, "To Intervene or Not to Intervene: An Analysis of American Foreign Policy in Modern Humanitarian Crises" (2018). CMC Senior Theses. 1913.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1913
This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.
