Nonintervention and its Possible Exceptions: International Society's Response to Civil War

Nonintervention is the principle in international relations that prohibits states from interfering in the internal affairs of another. This norm faces challenges in the form of interventionist policies that seek to end civil wars and their human costs. I propose that nonintervention is the best default policy for the international system. Nonintervention serves to both respect states relationship with their citizens and to provide stability in the international state system. But, it is only a guide and in situations where it fails to provide for the end it was meant to, it may become more prudent to suspend the norm in favor of intervention. One of the goals of my thesis is to discern the situations in which to suspend the principle of nonintervention.