Law and Power in Military Intervention: Major States after World War II

Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union have conducted more than 70 military interventions in foreign lands since 1946. These four major states have also avoided direct combat among themselves. The extensive yet selective use of force among the four governments suggests international norms constraining military intervention. The question is whether these norms reflect primarily respect for power or observance of international law. Military interventions by France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia between 1946 and 1980 (totaling 71) are systematically examined in order to identify common characteristics of action that point to international norms related to law and/or international norms related to power. It is found that the major states did not consistently behave in accordance with contemporary international law. It is also found that the major states did not limit force to territories where they had previously established visible commitments. However, they did consistently avoid intervening in lands where another of the four had visible military commitments, and at the same time they consistently respected limits established in international law between World Wars I and II. Observed norms reflected both the realities of international power and, belatedly, principles of international law.