Whether or not one agrees with the NATO countries' eventual bombing of Serbia, it is not true that they had previously condoned Milosevic's human rights violations. Their sanctions had barred Yugoslavia's access to the IMF, the World Bank, and membership in the United Nations. Unfortunately, genuine dilemmas may arise over implementing those values in real situations. Though bombing civilians in Serbia and starving children in Iraq hardly qualify as humanitarian interventions, they are considered as such by many policy-makers and citizens who find intolerable the violations by Serbian and Iraqi dictatorships. It is difficult to see promising ways of protecting human rights beyond these tragic, counterproductive approaches.
Democracy only comes into existence from civil society.
Today countries are denied membership in the European Union unless they democratize. Often democracy has taken root in countries where it did not originate in the grass roots. However, it is perfectly true that a strong civil society is one of the most important factors that foster the development and maintenance of democracy. Freedom of press and a rule of law are also defining characteristics and requisites of democracy. Peace researcher R.J. Rummel is Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Hawaii.