Since the end of the Cold War, the protection of human life has been a key priority of the international community. Though France has been at the forefront of these humanitarian efforts, its international role in and long-standing commitment to human protection overlooked and underestimated. Eglantine Staunton offers a compelling corrective to prevailing assumptions about France's foreign policy, examining its relationship to the dominant international principles established by the humanitarian intervention of the 1990s and the UN's Responsibility to Protect doctrine in 2005. Combining case studies of the interventions in Kosovo, Rwanda and Iraq, among others, and interviews with key actors including Gareth Evans and Bernard Kouchner, Staunton's innovative theoretical framework offers a valuable tool for understanding the interplay between domestic and international norms.

Reviews

'France has been a central actor in debates about human protection and conflict since the end of the Cold War. Yet, as Eglantine Staunton shows, France's role has been largely overlooked.... France, humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect is an excellent point of departure for those investigating these issues.'
Daniel R. Brunstetter, Global Responsibility to Protect

'This excellent book brings to light new and original claims. Staunton persuasively shows that France has both driven forward, and sometimes disrupted, the emerging international human protection regime.'
Tim Dunne, Professor of International Relations and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, The University of Queensland

'In this important new book, Eglantine Staunton combines deep insights with fine-grained analysis and an eye for detail. The result is a compelling account that adds fresh insight to our understanding of the global politics of humanitarianism.'
Alex J. Bellamy, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, The University of Queensland

'A rich exploration of the history of one of the most prominent - though also most overlooked - responsibility to protect proponents.'
Phil Orchard, Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Wollongong

'Eglantine Staunton has done a great service in rescuing from Anglophone obscurity France's remarkable contribution to the global debate around the prevention of mass atrocities.'
Simon Adams, Executive Director, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, CUNY Graduate Center

Introduction
1 Theorising the tale of two norms
2 France, a norm entrepreneur of humanitarian intervention (1987-1993)
3 France and humanitarian intervention in a climate of contestation (1994-1999)
4 From norm entrepreneur to 'part of the problem': France and the emergence of the responsibility to protect (2000-2004)
5 France and the development of the responsibility to protect: Consolidator or threat? (2005-2011)
6 France and the responsibility to protect in a post Libya era (2012-2017)
Conclusion
References
Appendix