A critical reflection on the conceptual and practical limitations of the responsibility to protect

Abstract

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is without a doubt an iconic representation of the international system's effort to reinterpret the traditional understanding of state sovereignty within a growing trend towards human rights considerations. This article presents the scepticism surrounding the R2P's journey within a conservative and state-centric status quo of international relations, framed on a basic set of 1648 Westphalia treaty ideals. The article analyses the limitations in the conceptualization and actual practice of the R2P, with an incisive examination of its tendency towards becoming the norm. An African introspection based on the application of the R2P also offers an insightful critique of the principle in the changing global order.