Michael Walzer on war, humanitarian intervention and the world order

The author investigates the standing of the theory of humanitarian intervention in the context of the development of the thought of M. Walzer from the end of the 1970's up to today. In the first part he analyses the normative justification of the theory of a just war and attempts to show its inner connection to a normative justification of humanitarian intervention. In the second part, he deals with Walzer's reflections on the principles of global justice and the institutional organisation of the international community. In conclusion, he analyses Walzer's key objections to cosmopolitanism and he poses the question of whether his normative standpoint of 'global egalitarianism' is consistent with the basic outcomes of his general theory of justice.