France’s and the UK’s Responses to the Libya Crisis

Abstract: This paper aims at analysing the 2011 Libyan crisis and France’s and the UK’s response to it. The research questions formulated in this study is: 1) Should the principle of responsibility to protect override state sovereignty? 2) Did the principle of responsibility to protect violate Libya’s sovereignty? 3) How did France and the UK perceive the situation in Libya and how did they respond to it? The theoretical framework consists of two theories to help answer the questions formulated; the principle of responsibility to protect and neoclassical realism. The theories are later connected to humanitarian intervention, security concerns and the security dilemma. In the analytical framework, I will attempt to understand how France and the UK interpreted the situation in Libya, what they thought was a suitable response to the crisis and how they responded to it. The conclusion of this study is that the intervention in Libya can be divided into two different interventions: the protection of civilians and the regime change. The first part of the intervention did not violate Libya’s sovereignty as it was rightfully justified with the responsibility to protect principle but the second part of the intervention was violating Libya’s sovereignty as a regime change cannot be justified by the principle, which makes the research question very complex. Related to responsibility to protect and sovereignty the study will debate if the principle of responsibility should override state sovereignty.