Patrick Wight, 27 June, 2021, Ethiopia Insight
The civil war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region brings into focus tensions between the traditional principle of state sovereignty and the emerging Responsibility to Protect (R2P) norm.
The deterioration of events into war crimes against Tigrayans reveals the limitations of anti-interventionism as an absolute virtue. To mitigate legitimate concerns about state sovereignty and neo-imperialist meddling, external actors must concentrate on humanitarianism and accountability for international crimes.