Against Massacre: Humanitarian Interventions in the Ottoman Empire, 1815–1914 by Davide Rodogno (review)

The period from 1815 to 1914 was an era of invention and liberalism, characterized by strong currents of nationalism, industrial revolution, modernization, and power politics. These ideological, economic, and political forces played a decisive role in defining which states belonged to the so-called family of nations and which did not. Nineteenth-century European great powers not only dominated the family of nations, they also were in position to decide how and when to admit other states into it. Their superior position in the international system allowed Europeans to perceive themselves as civilized and identify others (for example, the Ottoman Empire) as uncivilized and “barbarous.” The dichotomy, civilized versus barbarous, was inculcated in the minds of European diplomats and elites and very much shaped European Great Power politics and policies toward the “barbarous” Ottoman government and the Christian population living in the Ottoman territories. From 1815 to 1914, European great powers frequently intervened in the internal affairs of the Ottoman state with attempts to “save” their Christian brethren from the perceived barbarous Ottoman policies. Whatever the true motive behind the numerous European interventions in the Ottoman territories, almost all were labeled as humanitarian and described as attempts to stop massacres.

Davide Rodogno’s Against Massacre: Humanitarian Interventions in the Ottoman Empire, 1815–1914, provides a nuanced historical analysis as to when, where, how, by whom, and for what reasons humanitarian intervention was undertaken from 1815 to 1914 on the territory of the Ottoman Empire. Rodogno’s objective is to shed light on the similarities and differences between nineteenth-century and contemporary interventions. Rodogno’s conclusion is that “the current paradigm of humanitarian intervention is not entirely different from that of the nineteenth century.” Despite the increasing role of international and transnational nonstate actors, the international community is still a community of sovereign states, and states continue to act and intervene based on their national interest.

In the first two chapters, Rodogno provides an explanation as to why humanitarian intervention emerged as a particular kind of intervention; why this international practice occurred in the Ottoman Empire; and why the Ottoman state was excluded from the family of nations. According to Rodogno, the so-called Eastern Question and the failure of Ottoman reforms (Tanzimat) are critical factors that help explain the way humanitarian [End Page 133 ] interventions aimed at the Ottoman Empire were put in motion. The decay of the Ottoman Empire produced not only diplomatic and political tensions among European great powers but also opportunities for territorial and geopolitical gains. Rodogno nicely illustrates this point: “Throughout the nineteenth century the European powers feared that the implosion of the Ottoman Empire might give rise to a general war in Europe caused by divisions of spoils, and they assumed that for the sake of peace it was far better to keep the empire alive (though not necessarily intact).” But keeping the empire alive, some European political elites argued, seemed to increase rather than diminish the likelihood of destabilizing the European system, as the despotic and barbarous Ottoman government continued with discriminatory policies toward Ottoman Christians. The Eastern Question initially emerged as a religious challenge (how the European great powers could save their fellow Christians in the Ottoman territories without jeopardizing peace among them) but soon turned into a political one (how to the powers could preserve the balance of power without giving up humanitarian considerations).

The following three chapters of the book examine the great power interventions in three different Ottoman regions. The intervention on behalf of Greek revolutionaries (1821–33) was the first modern humanitarian intervention. Rodogno writes that there are a number of factors to explain why the great powers decided to intervene in this particular case. The Greeks were considered a civilized people deserving of help by other civilized Christian nations. Moreover, Philhellenes and Greek committees in London and Paris helped publicize the Greek cause and successfully lobbied European governments. Philhellenism also led...