Private motive, humanitarian intent: a theory of ethically justified private intervention

• Main Author: Morton, Edwin D.,III
• Other Authors: Strawser, Bradley J.
• Published: Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/34708

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited === The usual instruments of humanitarian military intervention are the regular armed forces of a state, or a group of states, but even when gross crimes such as genocide are committed and an intervention becomes morally obligatory, states are reluctant to risk the lives of their own soldiers. This moral tension is at the root of the international communitys failure to act in most cases. However, for states to fulfill the duty to prevent crimes against humanity, and at the same time protect their soldiers in the interests of national defense, a third party could be employed. In this thesis, the case will be made that the use of private military companies (PMCs) for humanitarian intervention is morally preferable to the employment of a states armed forces. To serve as a moral guideline for the concept, a theory of ethically justifiable private intervention has been formulated based on elements of Just War Theory and James Pattisons Moderate Instrumentalist Approach to humanitarian intervention. Three case studies are analyzed to conclude that, under certain conditions, humanitarian intervention conducted by PMCs is a morally permissible option.