A concise and analytical overview of the theoretical and moral issues raised by humanitarian intervention, relating this to the recent historical record.Divided into two parts, it will first explore the setting of contemporary humanitarian interventions in world politics and in political philosophy. It will ask what went wrong with the post-cold war settlement and will track the transition of UN peacekeeping from the cold war to the post-cold war period. The more philosophical aspects of humanitarian intervention will then be explored, along with the inter-linked roles of the media and public opinion in the global North in setting the agenda for humanitarian intervention.The second part will consider the record of post-cold war humanitarian intervention on a regional basis, with chapters on the Balkans, sub-Saharan Africa (Somalia, Rwanda, Darfur), East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq.A conclusion considers some alternatives to humanitarian intervention by the UN.