Solidarity and Intervention in the Era of Unconstrainted Power

Address: Eßlinggasse 9/6, 1010 Vienna, Austria & Online (via Zoom)

In the midst of a turbulent start to 2026, debates about intervention to protect civilians from harm have resurfaced with striking intensity. Some Iranian opposition voices are calling for “R2P for Iran” in response to the regime’s brutal repression of mass protests, including reports of mass killings and unprecedented internet shutdown.

What makes this moment particularly puzzling is not only the return of interventionist language, but who is using it, how and to what ends. Contrary to expectations of US retrenchment, Washington has demonstrated a renewed appetite for coercive intervention, framed ambiguously around the protection of civilians and the pursuit of strategic and economic interests for the US, as seen regarding Venezuela and Iran. At the same time, Europe and other major powers appear deeply hesitant to intervene, for reasons including: legal caution, political fragmentation, geopolitical calculations and the long shadow of past failures at military intervention.

Given that human security has long been seen as a “sister concept” to R2P, this moment invites a deeper interrogation of where European and progressive foreign policy actors stand today. This Human Security Salon will explore what solidarity and the protection of human dignity can meaningfully look like in an era of strongman politics, eroding norms and contested intervention. What is the responsibility of external actors when facing grave violations of human rights and dignity? Can European foreign and security policy move beyond its current, limited toolbox when confronted with large-scale and systematic violence against civilians? With attempting to answer these questions, the discussion aims to clarify the space for principled and genuinely human-centred responses in today’s fractured international order.

Speakers:

• Dr. Patryk I. Labuda, Assistant Professor of International Law and International Relations, Central European University
• Barbara Mittelhammer, Foreign & Security Policy Expert

• Jessica Zenti-Gruen, Policy Advisor on Fundamental Rights & Security to the Greens in the Austrian Parliament

   

Please make sure to register by Wednesday, 10 February 2026. You will receive more details and the Zoom link for virtual participation after registration.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact giorgi.ptskialadze@at.boell.org