La “non-intervention” comme alternative à la “guerre civile européenne”: une lecture croisée de John Stuart Mill, Benjamin Constant et Alphonse de Lamartine

The article aims at examining the genesis of the “principle of non-intervention”, with particular reference to that formulated by John Stuart Mill in “A Few Words on Non-intervention” in 1859. It examines how the English philosopher forged his arguments through a fruitful dialogue with some “liberal” thinkers of his time, such as Alphonse de Lamartine and Benjamin Constant, and it shows how their interpretation of some conflicts could have been a real issue for posing the question of military intervention. In addition, this work highlights how the principle of “non-intervention” could paradoxically be an instrument of liberation of oppressed peoples, as well as an alternative to a “European civil war”, for John Stuart Mill.