IMPLEMENTING THE INTERNATIONAL “RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT”: A SOCIOLOGICAL CASE STUDY OF THE INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TOWARD OPERATIONALIZING HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION

Abstract

The concept of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) was promulgated by the United Nations in 2001 to address the issue of military intervention in the case of gross and systematic violations of human rights by a state to prevent large scale loss of life. This issue reflects a greater international focus on protection of civilians to prevent future atrocities. My research examines how the key departments in the executive branch, specifically, the Department of State (DOS), US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Defense (DOD), have changed policy doctrine and procedures to incorporate these R2P related norms into United States Government (USG) practices between 2001 and 2016. In assessing the extent to which these norms have become institutionally embedded, I address the following questions: (1) What is the institutional environment in which the USG negotiates its mandates regarding the implementation of R2P? (2) How do the distinct institutional cultures of DOS, USAID and particularly the DOD, shape and influence positions on military intervention into humanitarian crises? (3) What is the relationship between the DOD (and its various offices) and the other US departments and agencies as well as civil society with which it works to implement R2P? (4) What processes, procedures and action has the USG implemented to help operationalize R2P? (5) How has the USG institutional action and thinking (focused primarily on DOD and DOS) changed over time, from the emergence of R2P through two US administrations?