The U.S. Humanitarian Interventions as a Unipolar Power in the Post-Cold War Era: The Case of Kosovo’s Idealistic Assumptions vs Realpolitik
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Date
2023
Authors
Selma BENZID
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Abstract
During the Post-Cold War Era, the United States ascended to a global superpower, whereas
former Soviet Union countries were embroiled in territorial and ethnic disputes, leading to
numerous crises. As a result, the U.S. intervened in various ways, primarily through
humanitarian interventions, to address these international issues. This study focuses on the
Kosovo Crisis of 1999, which has engendered divergent opinions among scholars, experts,
and politicians regarding the underlying motives that prompted American intervention. While
some perceive the actions of the U.S. as a display of goodwill and commitment to human
rights and autonomy, others contend that it was driven by “realpolitik” considerations to
pursue its interest. This is particularly evident in the fact that the U.S. encouraged NATO to
launch airstrikes without seeking the approval of either its Congress or the United Nations.
The objective of this study is to search for the reasons behind the U.S. involvement in
humanitarian interventions, specifically in Kosovo in the Post-Cold War Era. It seeks to
identify the mechanisms, legitimacy, and real motives driving these interventions and tackle
the factors influencing the decision to intervene in Kosovo over other nations. The research
relies on a historical and descriptive methodology by drawing on primary and secondary
sources to synthesize historical perspectives relevant to the studied issue. Primary sources
relied on in the data gathering included the U.S. Constitution, official documents from the
U.S. Congress and government agencies, and the UN and NATO reports. Secondary sources
included books, encyclopedias, and varied historical serial publications. The findings of this
research speculated that the U.S. humanitarian intervention during the Kosovo Crisis was an
extension of Cold War ideology, and the U.S. used a form of duplicity in its foreign policy
approach by appearing idealistic while practicing realpolitik.
Keywords: U.S. foreign policy; humanitarian intervention; Kosovo War; idealism; realism;
realpolitik.