The Collective Level in the Responsibility to Protect: Taking the InternationalCommunity Seriously

Abstract

This article highlights how the collective level is often either overlooked or addressed in an unconvincing manner within discussions on responsibility to protect (R2P). The discussion recalls that the R2P framework includes a collective level: the collective responsibility of the international community. The article suggests that a concern over an imperfect duty may be an important reason for attempts to conceptualize the collective responsibility as a perfect duty of particular actors. A plea is extended to avoid such methods as they result in fallacies of composition. Instead, we should earnestly examine this collectivity and the collective level. The paper proposes that this would entail addressing for instance representation, agency, and efficacy. The conclusion suggests why research on the international community should be of interest to the Asia-Pacific region.