Depoliticization of Humanitarian Interventions after the Cold War

Mohammadi, Majid; Khoshkhatti, Mahdi; Zolghadr, Malek; Partovi, Asghar

doi:10.22034/api.2026.2092476.1827

Depoliticization of Humanitarian Interventions after the Cold War

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Majid Mohammadi

Mahdi Khoshkhatti

Malek Zolghadr

Asghar Partovi

Department of International Relations, Za.C., Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran

10.22034/api.2026.2092476.1827

Abstract

Objective: The main objective of this article is to examine how humanitarian actions can be depoliticized in the post-Cold War context. This study seeks to answer the key question of how depoliticization in humanitarian interventions can support universal human rights in the post-Cold War era. Based on its hypothesis, the article also investigates how depoliticizing interventions, with an emphasis on human development indicators, leads to a universal redefinition of human rights.
Method: This study was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method. In this regard, the issue of depoliticization was explained and analyzed through a social justice approach in order to clarify the relationship among humanitarian interventions, human rights concepts, and human development indicators.
Results: The findings show that humanitarian intervention does not have a single legal or standard definition, and that the analytical field involved whether law, ethics, or politics affects its definition. It was also found that humanitarian interventions are of fundamental importance, especially in response to events such as genocide and mass killings. The findings indicate that current approaches to humanitarian intervention are influenced by differing views regarding the need for Security Council authorization or the limits of punitive actions.
Conclusion: The final conclusion of this study shows that attention to human development indicators provides the main basis for the depoliticization of humanitarian actions. In other words, by focusing on these indicators, it is possible to move away from purely political approaches to intervention and toward a more effective and universal protection of human rights in the post-Cold War era.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Humanitarian interventions

human rights

Cold War

depoliticization

Subjects

سیاسی

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