Should countries intervene in other nations' wars?

Countries have been making alliances ever since the first war started in the world, and sometimes they help out their allies in times of crisis. Even in the wars happening today, such as the Israel-Hamas War, countries rely on other nations to have their back. This often happens through a process called ‘intervention,’ which is when interference happens by a state in another’s affairs. However, there have been some issues with this activity. Some countries think that intervening in wars doesn't really help, and support independent movements. However, I do not think the same. I believe that humanitarian intervention is more helpful than not getting involved because firstly, it can save lives, and secondly, countries can help to defend their allies.

First of all, I believe that countries should intervene in other nations’ wars because humanitarian intervention can save lives. The main reasons why other countries might want to intervene during a war is because they want to alleviate extensive human suffering in another country. For example, it could prevent severe human rights abuses like genocide or ethnic cleansing. The atrocities committed are very cruel since even innocent citizens would have to suffer the abuses even if they have done nothing wrong. If other countries don’t help the people who are getting tortured, the case would get worse and worse without stopping. However, if countries help one another, then the situation might get a little better. The Responsibility to Protect (also known as the R2P) states that the international community has a duty to intervene to prevent and stop mass atrocities. For example, the NATO intervention in Kosovo that happened in 1999 helped alleviate suffering in another country. At that time, atrocities were committed by Serbian forces, led by President Slobodan Milosevic, against the Albanian population. They conducted cleansing campaigns, such as forced expulsions and killings. When diplomatic efforts failed, NATO decided to intervene to help the Albanian population. So, as you can see from this paragraph, countries should definitely intervene in other nations’ wars to prevent human rights abuses and suffering.

Secondly, countries should intervene in other nations’ wars in order to defend their allies. Since allies share the same values, security concerns, or geopolitical interests, mutual protection would be a great amount of help to each other. The defense aim is to maintain regional stability and the balance of power. For example, in the Korean War that happened during the 1950s, the U.S. was defending a democratic ally, and it prevented the spread of communism. This was very helpful since North Korea’s invasion was a direct threat to South Korea’s security and regional stability. If North Korea had absorbed, or taken over South Korea, it would have upset the balance of power, and it also would have been very unfair. The Soviet Union and China would have way too much power in their region, which can also lead to a fear of the “domino effect”. The “domino effect” is basically when other countries follow what their allies or other countries are doing. So if one country falls into communism, neighboring countries might follow. This can be a very unfortunate situation, so that is why I believe that countries should intervene in other nations’ wars.

In conclusion, I believe that other countries should intervene in another country’s war because of all of the reasons above, and I hope that the issues with wars and harmful effects it’s causing would decrease, or better yet, stop, in the future.