Michael Ignatieff

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a global political commitment adopted by UN member states in 2005, asserting that states have a responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. Ignatieff served as one of Canada's representatives on the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS), established in 2000. At the Commission's third meeting, Gareth Evans, Mohamed Sahnoun, and Ignatieff suggested adopting 'responsibility to protect' language in place of contested 'right of intervention' formulations . The Commission's 2001 report became the foundation for the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document .

Published in 2004, The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror addresses how liberal democracies can confront terrorism without abandoning their foundational commitments to dignity and rights. Ignatieff argues that neither security nor liberty holds an absolute trump card; governments may need to violate rights in genuine emergencies, but must do so with a 'conservative bias'—requiring due process, judicial review, and public justification . He insists that liberal states historically overreact to terrorist threats and cautions against sacrificing liberty for the illusion of perfect security. The title reflects his central claim: sometimes we must choose a lesser evil to prevent a greater one .

Ignatieff supported the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, arguing that Saddam Hussein's treatment of the Kurds and the threat of weapons of mass destruction justified intervention as a lesser evil . This position put him at odds with much of Canada's Liberal Party and the broader liberal intellectual milieu. Critics, including reviewer Ronald Steel, argued that his framework gave 'an elegantly packaged manual of national self-justification' for Bush administration policies . Ignatieff later acknowledged that the invasion 'does not appear to have had a pre-emptive justification at all' , and his political opponents used the Iraq position against him during his Liberal leadership tenure.

Ignatieff rejects both absolutism (rights can never be violated) and pure consequentialism (anything goes if it enhances security). His framework is a form of moral tragic realism: he acknowledges that liberal democracies may face genuine dilemmas where every option involves moral compromise. Unlike rights absolutists who insist on categorical prohibitions, Ignatieff permits departures from rights protections during rigorously time-limited emergencies . But unlike consequentialists who justify any means by the end, he demands that violations be publicly justified, judicially reviewed, and understood as morally problematic. The evil act must remain recognized as evil, not rationalized away.

In his 2003 book Empire Lite: Nation-Building in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan, Ignatieff argued that the United States had become 'an empire lite, a global hegemony whose grace notes are free markets, human rights and democracy, enforced by the most awesome military power the world has ever known' . He contended that America had a responsibility to create a 'humanitarian empire' through nation-building and, if necessary, military force. This argument placed him within a tradition of liberal imperialism that believes military power can be used to spread liberal values. Critics from the left saw this as providing intellectual cover for American hegemony .

Ignatieff returned to Canada in 2005 after decades abroad and was elected MP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore in 2006. He ran for Liberal leadership that year, losing to Stéphane Dion, then became deputy leader. After Dion's resignation, Ignatieff became Liberal leader in December 2008 . In the 2011 federal election, the Liberal Party suffered its worst defeat in history, winning only 34 seats and losing its status as the Official Opposition. Ignatieff lost his own seat and resigned as leader in May 2011, effectively retiring from politics . His tenure was marked by struggles to counter Stephen Harper's Conservatives and opposition attacks on his long absence from Canada .

After his 2011 electoral defeat, Ignatieff taught at the University of Toronto and returned to Harvard Kennedy School part-time in 2013, becoming full-time in 2014 . In 2016, he became president and rector of Central European University in Budapest, a position he held until July 2021. During his tenure, CEU faced pressure from the Hungarian government of Viktor Orbán, and the university ultimately relocated much of its operations to Vienna. Ignatieff has continued to publish articles and essays on international affairs and Canadian politics. In 2024, he was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences .