Do you think it is ever right for one country to become involved in the internal affairs of another?
It is hard to judge if it is right for one country to interfere in the internal affairs of another. A definite right or wrong cannot fully reflect and justify the issue. This is because in ‘Right’, there would be a small extent of ‘Wrong’ and vice versa. Take for example UN’s peacekeeping in Ireland. You can say it is right that they interfere to prevent conflict between Protestants and Catholics. However it is also wrong as they cannot be held responsible for the innocent deaths caused during peacekeeping. However if they did not interfere, more deaths would have ensued.
Right or wrong depends on various factors like the receptivity of the country, responsibility that the interfering country is willing to bear and the intention of the interfering country. For example, sanctions imposed by the US and the EU on Myanmar since its 1988 aborted elections have not succeeded. Given Myanmar’s government low receptivity to such actions, it would do more bad than good if one country becomes involved in their internal affairs. Resistance to another country’s participation in its internal affairs put up by Myanmar might result in loss of lives. Hence if the receptivity of a country is low, it is not right for one country to become involved in the internal affairs of another and vice versa.

In another light, it would actually be appropriate for one country to become involved in the internal affairs of another if the interfering country is willing to bear responsibility of the possible negative consequences. A failure example is the “Operation Iraqi Freedom”. As seen from the article, there was no concern about the responsibility to ensure Iraq is peaceful and stable before America withdraws. This does more harm to Iraq rather than stabilizing it. In my opinion, America should not have intervened Iraqi’s internal affairs in the first place. Iraqi might have been more stable compared to the aftermath of possible abandonment by America. Therefore, it would be right if one country decides to undertake full scale responsibility and give serious considerations to their every action.

The original motive or intent of a country’s intervention of another’s private affairs plays a big part in determining if the interference is right or wrong. The movie Fahrenheit 911 by Michael Moore screens a part whereby George Washington Bush claims to 'free the civilians' from the Iraqi government with the war in Iraq. Yet, they are killing civilians. If the true intention of America’s involvement in Iraq was to tap on its large resource of oil, then America’s involvement in the internal affairs of Iraq would be wrong.


In conclusion, there is no clear distinction of right or wrong regarding a country's involvement in another's internal affairs. With pure good intentions, responsibility and the adequate receptivity of the country, it would be alright to have foreign intervention.