MacQueen assesses armed humanitarian intervention on a region-by-region basis, from the Balkans to Africa, the Middle East to Southeast Asia. Using empirical evidence, he compiles a 'balance sheet' of the UN's successes and failures and asks hard questions about humanitarian intervention's short and long-term value.

* Presents a concise analytical overview of the theoretical, moral and practical issues
* Case study chapters on sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans and East Timor
* Confronts hard questions about the short and long-term value of these interventions