Conor Foley’s new book does an excellent job, writes Richard Seymour, of showing how the rhetoric of humanitarianism has been exploited to justify military interventions that have been far from humanitarian in their effects.

Seamus Milne reviews Conor Foley’s new book on the way in which the doctrine of humanitarian intervention has legitimised western aggression. Of particular interest is Foley’s account – based on personal experience – of the role of NGOs in contributing to this legitimation.