*{After Kosovo and East Timor, the international community still lacks a consensus on humanitarian intervention [http://www.weforum.org/site/knowledgenavigator.nsf/Content/After%20Kosovo%20and%20East%20Timor%2C%20the%20international%20community%20still%20lacks%20a%20consensus%20on%20humanitarian%20intervention?open&topic_id=300350000&theme_id=300] 27.01.2000 Annual Meeting 2000} While the international community is moving quickly to develop rules for the new global economy, whether with trade or finance, there has been dramatically less progress and agreement on rules for the political order. Few issues better reflect the complexity of international politics at the dawn of the 21st century than humanitarian intervention. "There is no consensus in the United States, or in the international community, on humanitarian intervention," said Richard Haass, Director of Foreign Policy Studies, Brookings Institution, Washington DC. Instead of coherence or consistency, a case-by-case approach has characterized interventions in the post-cold war era. Rather than providing a single road map for the future, recent cases have bequeathed a number of models. In East Timor, intervention only came with the endorsement of the host power - Indonesia; while in Kosovo, intervention was undertaken without the consent of the host government - Serbia. In other situations of humanitarian crisis, like Chechnya, no intervention has occurred, Haass said. Though the rules of the game after Kosovo and East Timor remain unclear, one prescription for success has emerged. Endurance has proved vital for successful interventions. The continued presence of the intervening parties, though expensive in political, human and material terms, is a critical ingredient. Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor are just three examples. But given the high price of such arrangements, it is unclear how sustainable these strategies can be. Participants discussed what conditions might be necessary for humanitarian intervention. Beyond human rights violations, said Alain Destexhe, President of the International Crisis Group, Belgium, interventions will not occur "without strategic interests or media attention". Destexhe declared: "Intervention does not depend on the level of human rights violations or on law, it depends on the balance of strength." While humanitarian interventions remain an important part of US foreign policy, they are far from being the highest priority. According to Haass, regional threats, whether in the Persian Gulf or East Asia, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction remain key concerns for Washington. One of the most serious flashpoints in the coming months could be the Taiwan Straits. Whatever occurs within the borders of a state is now a legitimate subject for discussion, said moderator Fareed Zakaria, Managing Editor of Foreign Affairs, USA. Still, Chechnya has highlighted the limits of intervention. According to Haass, even though many in the international community reject the means Russia is using, "we have to accept that the Russians will do what they want ... our influence is finite." Haass declared: "Humanitarian intervention is a luxury," adding that non-military options should receive more attention - "intervention is not a last resort." "Auschwitz, colonialism and Vietnam" were three defining experiences of the last century, said Dominique Moïsi, Deputy Director of the Institut Français des Relations Internationales, France. However, each of these experiences translates into a variety of sometimes competing strategies. Even though a set of universal values is emerging, there is no global referee. On this score, Moïsi argued, there is a leadership gap. "The UN needs to be reinvented," he said, adding that the world's leader in practice - the US - is strapped by its own neo-isolationist sentiment at home. "We've seen the high water mark of the consensus form of intervention," cautioned Zakaria. "Now we are more likely to see a sphere-of-interest type of intervention as in the 19th century ... and we may indeed be heading back to the future." *{Contributors: Destexhe Alain Haass Richard Moïsi Dominique Zakaria Fareed}