Against Massacre
Humanitarian Interventions in the Ottoman Empire, 1815-1914
Published on 23. June 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
408 pages
978-0-691-16669-8 (ISBN)
Description
Against Massacre looks at the rise of humanitarian intervention in the nineteenth century, from the fall of Napoleon to the First World War. Examining the concept from a historical perspective, Davide Rodogno explores the understudied cases of European interventions and noninterventions in the Ottoman Empire and brings a new view to this international practice for the contemporary era. While it is commonly believed that humanitarian interventions are a fairly recent development, Rodogno demonstrates that almost two centuries ago an international community, under the aegis of certain European powers, claimed a moral and political right to intervene in other states' affairs to save strangers from massacre, atrocity, or extermination. On some occasions, these powers acted to protect fellow Christians when allegedly "uncivilized" states, like the Ottoman Empire, violated a "right to life." Exploring the political, legal, and moral status, as well as European perceptions, of the Ottoman Empire, Rodogno investigates the reasons that were put forward to exclude the Ottomans from the so-called Family of Nations.
He considers the claims and mixed motives of intervening states for aiding humanity, the relationship between public outcry and state action or inaction, and the bias and selectiveness of governments and campaigners. An original account of humanitarian interventions some two centuries ago, Against Massacre investigates the varied consequences of European involvement in the Ottoman Empire and the lessons that can be learned for similar actions today.
He considers the claims and mixed motives of intervening states for aiding humanity, the relationship between public outcry and state action or inaction, and the bias and selectiveness of governments and campaigners. An original account of humanitarian interventions some two centuries ago, Against Massacre investigates the varied consequences of European involvement in the Ottoman Empire and the lessons that can be learned for similar actions today.
Reviews / Votes
"Scholars of international relations, law, and other disciplines have explored the phenomenon of humanitarian intervention, in which one or more states acting on behalf of the international community invades a sovereign state in response to the mass killing of civilians. Rodogno takes a historical approach to the issue in this deeply researched study of how the European Great Powers (primarily Great Britain and France) dealt with the massacres of civilians within the Ottoman Empire between 1825 and 1914."--Choice "Enthusiasm for humanitarian interventions in foreign conflicts tends to go in waves, as David Rodogno demonstrates in this erudite and well-researched book."--James Pettifer, Journal of Ecclesiastical History "Against Massacre fills a significant lacuna in the vast and growing literature on humanitarian intervention and will find readers among international relations historians and scholars."--Daniel J. Whelan, American Historical Review "[T]his is an important and groundbreaking work that deserves a wide readership among Ottomanists, Balkanists, scholars of international relations, and public policy experts with interests in the possibilities and limits of intervening to stop mass violence against civilians."--Max Bergholz, Historian "Against Massacre is a major contribution to a history of humanitarianism. Based on a multitude of Western sources, it profits from the new researches on late Ottoman history."--Hans-Lukas Kieser, Comparativ "Through a closer examination of the issue of humanitarian intervention in the nineteenth century, this book has made a valuable contribution to the political history of humanitarian intervention."--Pinar Senisik, Insight Turkey "This book is an easy read. It flows along nicely and will be popular with students and the chattering classes alike, for it says all the right things."--Kate Fleet, Journal of Islamic StudiesMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
5 Maps
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
689 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-16669-8 (9780691166698)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2011
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€30.49
Available for download
Person
Davide Rodogno is Fonds National Suisse Research Professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. He is the author of Fascism's European Empire.
Content
Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter One: The International Context of Nineteenth-Century Humanitarian Interventions 18 Chapter Two: Exclusion of the Ottoman Empire from the Family of Nations,and Legal Doctrines of Humanitarian Intervention 36 Chapter Three: Intervention on Behalf of Ottoman Greeks (1821-33) 63 Chapter Four: Intervention in Ottoman Lebanon and Syria (1860-61) 91 Chapter Five: The First Intervention in Crete (1866-69) 118 Chapter Six: Nonintervention during the Eastern Crisis (1875-78) 141 Chapter Seven: Intermezzo-The International Context (1878-1908) 170 Chapter Eight: Nonintervention on Behalf of the Ottoman Armenians (1886-1909) 185 Chapter Nine: The Second Intervention in Crete (1896-1900) 212 Chapter Ten: Nonforcible Intervention in the Ottoman Macedonian Provinces (1903-08) 229 Epilogue 247 Abbreviations 277 Notes 279 Bibliography 345 Index 385