Author Description

"...a short but provocative book..."--Alan Brinkley in The London Review of Books. This book reexamines the underlying themes and motivations of political interventionists in light of current world affairs. Topics addressed include the progress of Soviet intervention in the Third World; the recovery of belief in military intervention in the United States so soon after a period of deep disillusion about it; the scepticism evident in Western Europe about this belief; the discovery of a new rationale for intervention in access to resources, especially oil; the connection that is made between intervention and human rights, and the resurgence of an old belief in humanitarian intervention; and the spate of interventionary activity occasioned by movements for national liberation. The distinguished contributors include Stanley Hoffman, Rosalyn Higgins, Edward Luttwak, Richard Falk, and Evan Luard.