Abstract
The third pillar of the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) states that in cases where a state is unable to provide protection for its citizens, the international community has the responsibility to respond in a collective and decisive effort to provide protection. This aspect of authority given to the international system to be involved in the domestic affairs of a nation, even to the extent of military intervention, presents a significant challenge to India. This is a country that sees the world largely through the traditional lens of a Westphalian understanding of state sovereignty, and its long-held principle of non-interference in national affairs. Despite formally endorsing RtoP at the 2005 World Summit, India retains serious and consistent reservations when it comes to coercive measures under this doctrine’s third pillar. This chapter examines how India, an emerging rising power and an aspiring Security Council Permanent Member has dealt with and positioned itself regarding RtoP’s third pillar in the context of the 2011–2012 Libyan and the current Syrian civilian protection crises.
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© 2015 Roopmati Khandekar
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Khandekar, R. (2015). India and the Responsibility to Protect’s Third Pillar. In: Fiott, D., Koops, J. (eds) The Responsibility to Protect and the Third Pillar. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137364401_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137364401_8
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