The use of military force by a state or group of states, often with the support of international organizations such as the United Nations, to protect civilians in another country from serious human rights violations such as genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, or crimes against humanity. Humanitarian intervention is a complex and controversial practice that seeks to protect civilians from disproportionate harm by balancing the principles of human rights and state sovereignty.

• Holzgrefe, J.L. & Keohane, Robert O. (2003). Humanitarian Intervention: Ethical, Legal, and Political Dilemmas. Cambridge University Press.
• Tesón, Fernando R. (2005). Humanitarian Intervention: An Inquiry into Law and Morality. Transnational Publishers.
• Wheeler, Nicholas J. Saving Strangers: Humanitarian Intervention in International Society. Oxford University Press, 2000.
• Bellamy, Alex J. Responsibility to Protect: The Global Effort to End Mass Atrocities. Polity, 2009.