Includes bibliographical references and index.

Acknowledgments --
Introduction: A Personal Journey --
Pt. 1. Understanding the Responsibility to Protect --
Ch. 1. The Problem: The Recurring Nightmare of Mass Atrocities --
Defining Mass Atrocities ;
The Premodern Age: Centuries of Indifference ;
From Westphalia to the Holocaust: Institutionalizing Indifference ;
The Cold War Years: Cynicism and Self-Interest ;
The 1990s: The Clash of Competing Imperatives --
Ch. 2. The Solution: From "The Right to Intervene" to "The Responsibility to Protect" Initial Attempts to Build Consensus --
The Birth of "The Responsibility to Protect" ;
From ICISS to the World Summit ;
After the Summit: A Race Still Not Won --
Ch. 3. The Scope and Limits of the Responsibility to Protect --
Five Major Misunderstandings about R2P ;
Identifying Countries of R2P concern --
Pt. 2. Operationalizing the Responsibility to Protect --
Ch. 4. Before the Crisis: The Responsibility to Prevent --
Analysis and Early Warning ;
Political and Diplomatic Strategies ;
Economic and Social Strategies ;
Constitutional and Legal Strategies ;
Security Sector Strategies --
Ch. 5. During the Crisis: The Responsibility to React --
Political and Diplomatic Strategies ;
Economic Strategies ;
Legal Strategies ;
Military Strategies Short of Applying Coercive Force --
Ch. 6 Reacting to Crises: When Is It Right to Fight? --
The Question of Legality ;
The Question of Legitimacy ;
Legality versus Legitimacy --
Ch. 7. After the Crisis: The Responsibility to Rebuild --
Achieving Security ;
Achieving Good Governance ;
Achieving Justice and Reconciliation ;
Achieving Economic and Social Development ;
The Role of the Peacebuilding Commission --
Ch. 8. Institutional Preparedness: The Actors --
The United Nations System ;
Regional Organizations: EU, AU, NATO, and OSCE ;
Other Intergovernmental Institutions, National Governments, and NGOs --
Ch. 9. Building Diplomatic, Civilian, and Military Capability --
Diplomatic Capability ;
Civilian Response Capability ;
Military Response Capability --
Ch. 10. Mobilizing Political Will --
Ensuring Knowledge ;
Encouraging Concern ;
Building Confidence ;
Establishing Process ;
Demanding Leadership --
Appendixes:
A. Definitions of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, and War Crimes --
B. The Mass Atrocity Toolboxes: Prevention, Reaction, and Rebuilding --
C. Further Reading --
D. Further Action --
Notes --
Index --
Boxes:
2-1. R2P in the 2001 ICISS Report: Core Principles --
2-2. R2P in the UN General Assembly 2005: World Summit Outcome Document --
4-1. The Prevention Toolbox --
5-1. The Reaction Toolbox --
6-1. The Use of Force: Criteria of Legitimacy --
7-1. The Rebuilding Toolbox.

"Never again!" the world has vowed time and again since the Holocaust. Yet genocide, ethnic cleansing, and other mass atrocity crimes continue to shock our consciences—from the killing fields of Cambodia to the machetes of Rwanda to the agony of Darfur.

Gareth Evans has grappled with these issues firsthand. As Australian foreign minister, he was a key broker of the United Nations peace plan for Cambodia. As president of the International Crisis Group, he now works on the prevention and resolution of scores of conflicts and crises worldwide. The primary architect of and leading authority on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), he shows here how this new international norm can once and for all prevent a return to the killing fields.

The Responsibility to Protect captures a simple and powerful idea. The primary responsibility for protecting its own people from mass atrocity crimes lies with the state itself. State sovereignty implies responsibility, not a license to kill. But when a state is unwilling or unable to halt or avert such crimes, the wider international community then has a collective responsibility to take whatever action is necessary. R2P emphasizes preventive action above all. That includes assistance for states struggling to contain potential crises and for effective rebuilding after a crisis or conflict to tackle its underlying causes. R2P's primary tools are persuasion and support, not military or other coercion. But sometimes it is right to fight: faced with another Rwanda, the world cannot just stand by.

R2P was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly at the 2005 World Summit. But many misunderstandings persist about its scope and limits. And much remains to be done to solidify political support and to build institutional capacity. Evans shows, compellingly, how big a break R2P represents from the past, and how, with its acceptance in principle and effective application in practice, the promise of "Never again!" can at last become a reality.