Comments on: John Gray on liberal interventionism

By: Issandr El Amrani

Issandr El Amrani — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 20:01:04 +0000

Since the intervention in Sudan hasn’t come despite the massive ethnic cleansing campaign taking place there over the last few years, I don’t think it will happen either under the current US administration or the next one. The solutions being brandied about now are pretty pragmatic one, based mostly on diplomatic initiatives and various degrees of pressure that fall way short of real, Iraq-style interventionism.

In a sense Sudan may have been worth an intervention of some sort, at least barring the Janjaweed/Sudanese government access to Darfur as was done with Kurdistan and Saddam by the Clinton administration in 1995-96. But we’re not even seeing that. Regime change like in Iraq or Serbia, even less so.

Liberal interventionists may be in power (I would not consider Brown one, and am not sure about Sarkozy despite all his bluster, even if Kouchner is sold) but they are being forced to be pragmatic.

By: Hisham

Hisham — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 07:20:07 +0000

A well-intentioned and worthy rhetorical effort, but Abu Muqawama is right, the liberal interventionist project has just begun.

Sudan anyone?

By: Issandr El Amrani

Issandr El Amrani — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:58:22 +0000

Good points - you may be right, but I think it’s going to be very hard to pass through the UN at this stage or make it not look like old fashioned imperialism, even if the discourse of liberal interventionism remains.

By: Abu Muqawama

Abu Muqawama — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:49:54 +0000

Dead? How can you say that? With Sarkozy/Kouchner in France, Brown in the UK, and very likely Clinton/Obama in the USA after 2008, liberal interventionalism may just be entering its glory days.