Against Massacre Humanitarian Interventions in the Ottoman Empire, 1815-1914

"A timely, ambitious, and clearheaded account of the complex history of humanitarian intervention in the nineteenth century. Rodogno astutely shows how European humanitarianism fed on views of the Ottoman Empire as barbaric and moribund, and its Christian subjects as uniquely deserving of sympathy. Stressing the selectivity of interventions and the mixed motives of their agents, Rodogno traces the interplay between public opinion, the journalism that fueled it, and European states' imperial and geopolitical agendas."--Jennifer Pitts, University of Chicago "This excellent book offers a fresh and imaginative look at the history of humanitarian intervention by focusing on European action or inaction in the Ottoman Empire during episodes of violence against some of its Christian populations. Its well-researched and nuanced analysis illuminates the theory and practice of such interventions that remain very relevant for our own day. It also recasts through this prism the much-vexed 'Eastern Question' in highly original ways."--Aron Rodrigue, Stanford University "Against Massacre is a comprehensive and readable account of the first modern humanitarian interventions by Western powers in the nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire. While the new 'responsibility to protect' norm is making more impact than Rodogno concedes, he is right to suggest that broad consensus on military action in mass atrocity cases will long be elusive: the nineteenth-century legacy of selective response lives on."--Gareth Evans, cochair, International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty "In this outstanding, elegant, and informative book, Rodogno makes a powerful case for reexamining humanitarian intervention from a historical perspective by exploring cases of European involvement in the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century. With impressive research and insightful analysis, Against Massacre will have a major impact in international history and be of great importance to humanities and political science scholars."--J. P. Daughton, Stanford University "Studying the emergence of humanitarian intervention in the nineteenth century and its implementation in the Ottoman Empire, Rodogno provides a new and interesting view on the concept as a whole. Rodogno's topic is excellent, his approach original, and his arguments sound and well-grounded. I know of no similar book."--Stevan K. Pavlowitch, emeritus professor of history, University of Southampton