The Upheavals in Libya and Syria, and Their Impact on “Responsibility to Protect” Doctrine, Spring 2013

The Arab Spring offers a unique prism to look into the changing status quo in world affairs and the role of UN Security Council. The broad international consensus on the threat of atrocity crimes in Libya allowed, for a short period, to further the “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine in applied international politics. However, the aftermath of the Libyan campaign, as well as the continuing civil war in Syria, have cooled down this optimism. How the situation in Syria will evolve now depends whether Russia and “the West” are able to bridge their positions if not for humanitarian reasons, then against the threat of Syrian WMD’s proliferating into the hands of regional terrorist groups.