Publication

The question about what to do about strangers – by which I mean people not closely related to us, and to whom we have no explicit moral responsibilities – who are subject to crimes and cruelty is not new. The ideal of coming to the aid of the stranger in need is deep-seated within the Christian moral tradition and other religious traditions. However, in the 1990s, the civil wars and humanitarian crises in Bosnia, Somalia, Rwanda and Kosovo raised the issue of military humanitarian intervention with full force. It remains to be answered clearly what role soldiers should play in protecting civilians at risk in such operations.