Intervention / R2PL Archives - The Hayek Council

10Apr 2026 by The Hayek Council

SPOTLIGHT: NATO Blinked – Europe’s Hesitation on Iran Undermines Western Deterrence

Synopsis In this op-ed, former US Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, argues that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and key European allies “blinked” in the wake of US and Israeli strikes against the Iranian dictatorship, revealing a dangerous reluctance to stand firmly with Washington DC and Jerusalem. Sondland contends that true defence in 2026 cannot mean passively waiting for the next attack - it requires decisive action, unity, and credible Western deterrence against a regime that has waged a 47-year campaign of hostility, including proxy attacks and threats to Israel and international shipping. Sondland defends President Donald Trump’s frustration with NATO, pointing to chronic burden-sharing imbalances, European legal hand-wringing, and a tendency to create political distance rather than offer immediate operational or political support. He warns that…

26Mar 2026 by Martin van Staden

The West’s Responsibility in Iran

Daily Friend, Opinion

Excerpt The realists oppose support for uprisings before they fail (which itself then guarantees failure), and then lament the failure as solid proof against action. The “no plan” complaint only holds if we pretend the alternative – doing nothing in January – was cost-free. It was not. The regime had already demonstrated its willingness to slaughter its way to survival. By refusing even limited support then, the West ensured the very (overstated) “vacuum” it now decries. Ethically, the bloc now has to make the best of a bad situation rather than pretend its hands are clean. Read in the Daily Friend.

16Nov 2025 by Martin van Staden

Globalism and Limited Government – Contrary or Complementary?: A New Agenda for a Neo(Libertarian) World Order

Palgrave Macmillan, Paper

Abstract This chapter challenges the prevailing libertarian hostility toward political globalism and a potential world-spanning polity. Martin van Staden argues that such a polity is likely inevitable due to historical trends of political consolidation, intensifying globalisation, and the growing authority of international institutions. Rather than reflexively opposing it through boycott or denial - which could prove counterproductive - libertarians should engage constructively to shape its constitutional design in a freedom-enhancing direction. The paper distinguishes globalisation (economic and cultural interconnectedness, generally positive) from globalism (political integration via supranational institutions). It critiques the paleolibertarian preference for multiple sovereign nation-states as a form of decentralisation, arguing that this confuses “estate” (private property) with “State” and often fails to limit power or provide genuine exit options. Sovereign states do not inherently check one another…

08Dec 2024 by Martin van Staden

Individual Liberty and the Responsibility to Protect: Toward a Neolibertarian Foreign Policy

Palgrave Macmillan, Paper

Abstract This paper develops a distinctly libertarian, or “neolibertarian,” approach to foreign policy grounded in the principle that the State’s core responsibility is to protect individual liberty and self-ownership - the Responsibility to Protect Liberty (R2PL). Martin van Staden argues that libertarianism, being cosmopolitan and focused on the abstract Individual rather than particular nationalities or cultures, must apply its universal principles consistently to international affairs, not merely domestic ones. Drawing on the contemporary international norm of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which holds that states forfeiting their duty to shield populations from mass atrocities lose legitimate sovereignty, the author formulates R2PL as its libertarian counterpart. Governments exist to secure unalienable rights to life, liberty, and property. When a state fails this duty - or actively violates it - other states,…

21Sep 2022 by Martin van Staden

To Tyrants the Answer is “No”: Conceptualizing a Confident, Muscular, and Cosmopolitan Libertarianism

Comos + Taxis, Paper

Abstract This paper critiques the growing tendency among some libertarians, particularly those influenced by national-conservatism, to treat individual liberty and property rights as culturally contingent "Western" values unsuitable for export beyond the West. The authors argue that libertarianism is inherently cosmopolitan: it posits universal, inalienable rights of self-ownership and property that apply to all individuals regardless of nationality, culture, or tradition. Drawing on FA Hayek, the paper rejects the nation-state's claim to collective "self-determination" through majoritarian legislation, favouring instead universal rules of just conduct (cosmos) over particularistic commands (taxis). National-conservative critiques - that libertarianism undermines tradition, community, and non-Western values - are countered by showing that libertarian principles accommodate voluntary associations, intermediary institutions, and cultural diversity, while requiring only that no group impose its vision on others. The authors advocate…

Tag: Intervention / R2PL