This study argues that the human rights violations in Darfur meet the legal threshold of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity and, therefore, justifies forcible humanitarian intervention by any grouping of states whether in or outside the context of the UN or the AU.

Killing of the innocent, forced displacement of civilian population, large-scale sexual violence, torture, and destroying of civilian property have been going on since the dawn of civilization. Efforts to protect people against grave crimes of such atrocities more effectively, both in peace and war, gradually evolved over the centuries, and then rapidly accelerated after the Second World War. But, for the most part, those horrors were met with indifference, cynicism, or deep disagreement about how to respond to them. As the twenty-first century began, there was still no universally accepted and effective response mechanism in place to protect civilian population. And this is especially true in the case of Darfur.

This book analyzes the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in the context of the conflict in Darfur, using detailed empirical evidence. The volume traces Darfur’s evolution from forgotten conflict to a major global cause and back to obscurity. The emergence of a far-reaching international response to the war in Darfur began in 2004 and included the most influential international advocacy movement since the anti-apartheid campaign and one of the world’s largest peacekeeping missions. The book analyzes how Darfur slid back into international obscurity after 2011, despite ongoing violence against civilians and the continued risk of conflict escalation following Omar al-Bashir’s ousting in April 2019. Based on an analysis of more than 100 interviews and over 1,000 media reports, the book examines one of the most pressing questions related to the R2P: why do some situations of mass atrocities cause an international outcry, while others are met with complacency and silence? It argues that the presence or absence of a compelling narrative, which frames a situation in moral terms and unambiguously conveys who is responsible, who suffers, and what should be done, facilitates whether or not sufficient traction will be gained to beget a robust R2P response. This book will be of much interest to students of the Responsibility to Protect, human rights, peacekeeping, conflict resolution, African politics and International Relations in general.

The protection of civilians which has been at the forefront of international discourse during recent years is explored through harnessing perspective from international law and international relations. Presenting the realities of diplomacy and mandate implementation in academic discourse.

This thesis presents a critical analysis of international law on humanitarian intervention using Darfur, Sudan, as a case study. In the 20th century, international law was the perceived hurdle to humanitarian intervention. The international legal debate frames state sovereignty against humanitarian intervention. Within this legal framework, civilians are unprotected from atrocities that remain inside state territorial lines. States could conduct acts of genocide against their own population with impunity. After the intervention in Kosovo and the genocide in Rwanda, international law evolved to allow humanitarian intervention. The international legal debate shifted from state sovereignty against humanitarian intervention to a "Responsibility to Protect." The United States declared the atrocities in Darfur, Sudan, to be genocide in 2004. Four years later, there is still no protection of civilians and over 2 million displaced civilians remain in camps. Where the law has changed there is still a requirement for state interest. Until the genocide in Darfur is a vital state interest, the United States and other western countries will not intervene, regardless of what international law authorizes. If the only limitation on humanitarian intervention in Darfur is the perception that the genocide is not a United States vital interest, the U.S. military should be prepared for the view to change. With the creation of Africa Command, the U.S. military is beginning to view the continent of Africa with more interest. The U.S. military will be more effective if its leaders understand the evolution of the legal framework for humanitarian intervention, how to work within it, and the repercussions for working outside it when state interests change.

As massive human suffering continues to engulf the Darfur region of Sudan, the crisis has garnered a rhetorical circus of saber-rattling and hand wringing from Western politicians, media, and activists. Yet such bluster has not halted the violence. In a careful, yet scathing, indictment of this constellation of holier-than-thou government leaders, corporate media outlets, and spoon-fed NGOs, Steven Fake and Kevin Funk reveal the myriad ways in which the West has failed Darfur. Eschewing liberal fantasies of Western benevolence, Fake and Funk unmask the hard reality behind "humanitarian intervention" advocacy, painting a disturbing portrait of Washington's past and present relations with some of the worst elements in power in Khartoum. Book jacket.