Fall 2025 - IS 302 D100
Humanitarian Intervention: An Introduction (4)
Class Number: 4207
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2025: Wed, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
Vancouver -
Exam Times + Location:
Dec 14, 2025
Sun, 12:00–3:00 p.m.
Vancouver
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Instructor:
Brenda Lyshaug
blyshaug@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
45 units.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Explores how international actors respond to humanitarian emergencies, such as famine, displacement, and genocide. Examines the political, legal, and ethical challenges of humanitarian action by focusing on contemporary cases and on key types of response, from the delivery of aid to sanctions and the use of military force. Breadth-Humanities/Social Sciences.
COURSE DETAILS:
This course examines the political, ethical, and legal dimensions of humanitarian intervention, which involves the use of force to protect civilians from large-scale forms of violence (such as ethnic cleansing and genocide).
We will explore the following questions: When does the international community have a responsibility to use coercive measures in order to protect people from violence? Under what conditions is it justifiable to use military force for humanitarian purposes; and, what are the dangers or risks in doing so? In what ways have such interventions failed in the past; and, what are the conditions under which they are more likely to succeed? How do states’ interests shape decisions about humanitarian intervention? Should interveners focus narrowly on protecting civilians from immediate danger? Or, can the broader goal of regime change be justified on humanitarian grounds as well? Do interveners have a “responsibility to rebuild” in the wake of military interventions? If so, what is the scope of this obligation? In addressing these questions, we will give particular attention to the doctrine of “Responsibility to Protect”, and to debates about its impact and future.
According to critics, humanitarian intervention often amounts to a disguised form of imperialism. How have advocates of intervention responded to this concern; and, are their responses convincing?
To gain a better understanding of these issues, we will discuss the role that international actors have played in a range of important cases, including Iraq, Somalia, Rwanda, Kosovo, and Libya.
Grading
- In-Class Writing Assignment 25%
- Briefing Paper (team project*) (individual component) 15%
- Briefing Paper (team project*) (group component) 5%
- Debate** (incl. collaborative component) 15%
- Final Exam 30%
- Participation 10%
NOTES:
* The team project will involve collaboration with other students and it will also include an individually written component.
** You may opt to complete an alternative to the debate assignment, which will involve working with partners to create a recorded presentation. This alternative assignment will be worth the same portion of the final grade as the debate (15%).
Materials
MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:
Note: We’ll read multiple chapters from each of the required books (by Rajan Menon and Nicholas Wheeler). They are available electronically in SFU library’s collection. If you prefer to have your own copy, you can purchase these books.
REQUIRED READING:
Rajan Menon, The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention (Oxford, 2018).
ISBN: 9780190692186
Nicholas Wheeler, Saving Strangers: Humanitarian Intervention in International Society (Oxford, 2002).
ISBN: 9780199253104
RECOMMENDED READING:
Other required readings will be available electronically online, via Canvas, or through the SFU Library.
REQUIRED READING NOTES:
Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.
To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit:
- SFU’s Academic Integrity Policy: S10-01 Policy
- SFU’s Academic Integrity website, which includes helpful videos and tips in plain language: Academic Integrity at SFU
RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION
Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.