Includes index. Hehir, A., & Murray, R. W. (2017). Protecting human rights in the 21st century. London: Routledge.

Introduction: denial, fatalism, and the protection of human rights -- Part I: Rethinking fundamental principles -- Global constituent power: protests and human rights -- A critical examination of 'humanity' -- Failed interventions and the inherent contradictions of liberal internationalism -- Humanitarian intervention in post-American international society -- Part II: 'Protection' and peacekeeping -- The uncertainties of international protection -- UN peacekeeping and the protection of civilians' norm -- From showpiece interventions to day-to-day civilian protection: Western humanitarian intervention and UN peacekeeping -- The responsibility to protect or the protection of civilians: which policy brand is more 'successful'? -- Part III: The responsibility to protect and beyond -- Norm complexity and contestation: unpacking the R2P -- 'Why is it that we keep failing?' The responsibility to protect as a hollow norm -- Guns vs troops: the ethics of supplying arms -- The limits of R2P and the case for pacifism -- The responsibility to protect: a long view -- Conclusion: The future of human rights protection

This book contributes to current debates on the protection of human rights in the 21st century. With the global economic collapse, the rise of the BRICS, the post-intervention chaos in Libya, the migration crisis in Europe, and the regional conflagration sparked by the conflict in Syria, the need to protect human rights has arguably never been greater. In light of the precipitous decline in global respect for human rights and the eruption or escalation of intra-state crises across the world, this book asks 'what is the future of human rights protection?'. Seeking to avoid both denial and fatalism, this book thus aims to: examine the principles at the very foundation of the debate on human rights; diagnose the causes of the decline of liberal internationalism so as to offer guiding lessons for future initiatives; identify those practices and developments that can, and should, be preserved in the new era; question the parameters of the contemporary debate and advance perspectives that aim to identify the contours of future ideas and practices that may offer a way forward. This book will be of much interest to students of humanitarian intervention, R2P, international organisations, human rights and security studies.