State sovereignty Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Despite their other theoretical differences, virtually all scholars of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agree that the organization's members share an almost religious commitment to the norm of non-intervention. This article disrupts this consensus, arguing that ASEAN repeatedly intervened in Cambodia's internal political conflicts from 1979 to 1999, often with powerful and destructive effects. ASEAN's role in maintaining Khmer Rouge occupancy of Cambodia's UN seat, constructing a new coalition government in exile, manipulating Khmer refugee camps and informing the content of the Cambodian peace process will be explored, before turning to the 'creeping conditionality' for ASEAN membership imposed after the 1997 'coup' in Phnom Penh. The article argues for an analysis recognizing the political nature of intervention, and seeks to explain both the creation of non-intervention norms and specific violations of them as attempts by ASEAN elites to maintain their own illiberal, capitalist regimes against domestic and international political threats.
[the full version is available via my website, http://www.leejones.tk]

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- International Relations, Southeast Asian Studies, Sovereignty, Cold War

The article reads the invention of the Exodus-Narrative in its historical context of the religious and political system of the Ancient Near East. It reconstructs the revolutionary different approach to political power and theological foundation in the development of the Mose- and Exodus-Narrative and its innerbiblical Fortschreibung. For this development it is most decisive that the Exodus-Narrative is not based on a historical migration-movement "from point A to point B", but on a historical confrontation with the political powers at that time. The foundation of a strict monotheistic understanding of theology and the invention of “textual authority” that diverged from the status of scripture in the Ancient Near East and which can be reconstructed through the structure of the Exodus-Narrative and its canonical form as the Tora of Mose, has laid the foundation for the identity of Israel and the basis for the three Monotheistic Religions. The article's argument is strictly developed in correspondence with contemporary exegetical and historical research (esp. E. Otto and Chr. Dohmen) and is brought together with contemporary accounts to political thought from poststructuralist and deconstructive philosophers like Derrida, Levinas, Badiou and Agamben. The outcome of this study is articulated as a contribution to an affirmative reading of the so-called »crisis of representation«.

- by Peter A . Zeillinger
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- Political Theory, Poststructuralism, Sovereignty, Biblical Studies

“Power is war, the continuation of war by other means”: Foucault’s reversal of Clausewitz’s formula has become a staple of critical theory — but it remains highly problematic on a conceptual level. Elaborated during Foucault’s 1976 lectures (“Society Must Be Defended”), this work-hypothesis theorises “basic warfare” [la guerre fondamentale] as the teleological horizon of socio-political relations. Following Boulainvilliers, Foucault champions this polemological approach, conceived as a purely descriptive discourse on “real” politics and war, against the philosophico-juridical conceptuality attached to liberal society (Hobbes’s Leviathan being here the prime example).
However, in doing so, Foucault did not interrogate the conceptual validity of notions such as power and war, therefore interlinking them without questioning their ontological status. This problematic conflation was partly rectified in 1982, as Foucault proposed a more dynamic definition of power relations: “actions over potential actions”.
I argue, somewhat polemically, that Foucault’s hermeneutics of power still involves a teleological violence, dependent on a polemological representation of human relations as essentially instrumental: this resembles what Derrida names, in “Heidegger’s Ear”, an “anthropolemology”. However, I show that all conceptualisation of power implies its self-deconstruction. This self-deconstructive (or autoimmune) structure supposes an archi-originary unpower prior to power: power presupposes an excess within power, an excessive force, another violence making it both possible and impossible. There is something within power located “beyond the power principle” (Derrida). This (self-)excess signifies a limitless resistantiality co-extensive with power-relationality. It also allows the reversal of pólemos into its opposite, as unpower opens politics and warfare to the messianic call of a pre-political, pre-ontological disruption: the archi-originary force of différance. This force, unconditional, challenges Foucault’s conceptualisations of power, suggesting an originary performativity located before or beyond hermeneutics of power-knowledge, disrupting theoreticity as well as empiricity by pointing to their ontological complicity.
The bulk of this essay is dedicated to sketching the theoretical implications of this deconstructive reading of Foucault with respect to the methodology and conceptuality of political science and social theory.

- by Thomas Clément MERCIER
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- Critical Theory, Discourse Analysis, Sociology, Cultural Studies

The concept of sovereignty has come to frame a number of data governance proposals by the Indian government. To understand the scope, import and consequences of these reassertions of sovereignty, it is, however, important to unpack the nature of the claims that have been put forward. In particular, to what extent do these promote the exercise of autonomy and choice by the Indian people? In order to benefit the people of India, assertions of sovereignty in the face of data colonialism will need to take into account that data is not merely a resource “out there”, but increasingly functions as an extension of our bodies. As this analysis will show, current conceptualisations of data sovereignty fail to do so; for now, they therefore merely entail a transfer of power to domestic elites while doing little to return sovereignty to the people of India.

- by Anja Kovacs
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- Data Mining, Sovereignty, Cyberfeminism, Theories of Sovereignty

Sovereignty is seeing renewed relevance in the age of data in India as it has become the framework of choice in a number of data governance proposals by the Indian government. To understand the scope, import and consequences of these reassertions of sovereignty, however, it is important to unpack the nature of these claims as they have been put forward. In particular, to what extent does this type of sovereignty allow for the exercise of autonomy and choice of the Indian people? This paper will demonstrate that such assessments crucially depend on how we construct the nature of data. In most dominant discourses, data is described as a resource of some sort. However, in practice the line between our physical bodies and our virtual bodies is increasingly becoming irrelevant: data, then, emerges not so much as a resource that is simply out there, but as an extension of our bodies. In order to benefit the people of India, assertions of sovereignty in the face of data colonialism will need to take these shifting realities regarding the nature of data into account. Through an assessment of policy proposals relating to sovereignty in the realm of data and new technologies, we seek to examine to what extent policy in India does indeed recognise these new realities, and what the value of these new assertions of sovereignty for the people of India consequently is.

- by Anja Kovacs
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- Data Mining, Sovereignty, Cyberfeminism, Theories of Sovereignty
- by Karina Bidaseca
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- Gender Studies, Feminist Theory, Literature, Human Rights

There has been much debate about whether globalization is undermining state sovereignty in the study of world politics today. This is due to the fact that the term ‘globalization’ itself is rather subjective and broad. There are two rather distinct arguments used in this debate. Hyperglobalists, such as Ohmae and Scholte , hold a pessimistic view and argues that globalization brings about the demise of the sovereign nation state: global forces undermine the ability of governments to control their own economics and societies. In contrast, ‘the sceptics reject the idea of globalization as so much “globaloney”’ : by emphasizing the continuing importance of states in world politics, academics such as Krasner and Gilpin argue that states and geopolitics remain the principal agents and forces shaping world order today. In this essay, we will firstly define the terms ‘globalization’ and ‘state sovereignty’. Looking at the impact of globalisation domestically and internationally of a state, we will pin point which aspects of state sovereignty are being undermined before looking at the arguments proposed by the “sceptics”. Then we will conclude whether or not, or to what extent is globalization undermining state sovereignty.

- by Queena Long
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- International Relations, Globalization, State sovereignty
- by Buis Mathis
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- European Studies, Economics, American Politics, International Relations

The article attempts a comprehensive review of the human security concept in order to question its utility for both research and policy-making. It notes the term’s interdisciplinary and extensively normative content that have facilitated its evolution into a successful security discourse. On the other hand, human security’s wide appeal has as a side-effect an extended conceptual polysemy inhibiting the cumulation of knowledge and the development of a relevant theory. Absence of conceptual clarity has also complicated its policy implementation. The article attempts to break the deadlock and move the debate forward by using the work of John Gerring and Paul A. Barresi on concept formation as an organizing device.

States play the lead role in implementing the norms of the international system. They interpret norms through the lens of their sovereignty, refining and revising them until they are suitable to local interests and context. The complex nature of sovereignty and its diverse manifestations across states means that norms will be interpreted and implemented in different ways. This article argues that R2P and counter-terrorism are complex norm regimes which are susceptible to modification as they are interpreted through diverse conceptions of state sovereignty. Using the cases of China’s response to the Uyghurs and Sri Lanka’s response to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, this article shows that the malleable prescriptive norms of R2P and counter-terrorism can be reinterpreted by states in ways contingent on their sovereignty that deeply impact, and may even violate, the original intent of the norm.

- by Shannon Zimmerman
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- Human Rights, Responsibility to Protect, Sri Lanka, Uyghurs
- by Rich Furman
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- Religion, Sociology, Human Geography, Criminal Law

McGirt v. Oklahoma in 2020 has brought to light decades of debate on the sovereignty of the Tribes and the State. Oklahoma, of all states, has the highest concentration of indigenous nations at 38. The founding fathers of the United States created a constitutional republic. One in which the founders sought to expand with the hope of including the indigenous nations. However, the United States lost its foundational and Constitutional moorings by ignoring the Constitutional debates and understanding. This article seeks to analyze the sovereignty that the founders initially designed and influence on government within today's intergovernmental relations to the Tribal Nations.

- by Travis A . Younce
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- Indigenous Studies, Federalism, Supreme Court, Constitutionalism
- by Mottier Véronique
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- Religion, Sociology, Social Theory, Sociology of Culture
- by Rich Furman
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- Creative Writing, Critical Theory, Business Ethics, Religion
- by Szymon Mazurkiewicz
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- International Law, Responsibility to Protect, State sovereignty

'Membership of the European Union changes the relationship between Parliament and the courts in the British constitution. Parliament is no longer sovereign and the courts are no longer bound to uphold the will of Parliament.' Can this... more

- by Ben Chua
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- Constitutional Law, European Law, Sovereignty, European Constitutionalism

The responsibility to protect ('R2P') principle articulates the obligations of the international community to prevent conflict occurring, to intervene in conflicts, and to assist in rebuilding after conflicts. The doctrine is about protecting civilians in armed conflicts from four mass atrocity crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. This book examines interventions in East Timor, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Kosovo. The chapters explore and question UN debates with respect to the doctrine both before and after its adoption in 2005; contrasting state attitudes to international military intervention; and what takes place after intervention. It also discusses the ability of the Security Council to access reliable information and credible and transparent processes to enable it to make a determination on the occurrence of atrocities in a Member State. Questioning whether there is a need to find a closer operational link between the responsibilities to prevent and react and a normative link between R2P and principles of international law, the contributions examine the effectiveness of the framework of R2P for international decision-making in response to mass atrocity crimes and ask how an international system to deal with threats and mass atrocities can be developed in the absence of a central authority. This book will be valuable to those interested in international law, human rights, and security, peace and conflict studies

I bambini e adolescenti stranieri che entrano e soggiornano nel nostro Paese da soli, senza essere accompagnati dai propri gentili, hanno attirato negli anni recenti l´interesse di istituzioni, amministrazioni locali, strutture della società civile. Esii rimangono tuttavia dei migranti minori. Non solo nell´ovvio senso che si tratta di minorenni che emigrano, ma soprattutto nel senso che essi sono stati oggetto fino ad oggi di un´attenzione insufficiente, intermittente, frettolosa da parte delle istituzioni. Nelle misure previste in materia si rispecchia una doppia difficoltà: quella di operare nei confronti di cittadini stranieri e quella di operare con adolescenti, categoria sociale sfuggente e problematica.
Il volume documenta gli esiti di un´indagine svolta tra gli operatori del Veneto promossa dal Pubblico Tutore dei minori del veneto. A conclusione dell´analisi sono formulate alcune raccomandazioni per una migliore promozione e tutela dei diritti.

- by Annalisa Butticci
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- Human Rights, International Criminal Law, Immigration Law, Human Trafficking

RESUMO O presente artigo visa analisar o instituto da soberania estatal no atual estado da arte do Direito Internacional Público. Para tanto, descrever-se-ão os impactos que o desenvolvimento e a consolidação dos direitos humanos tiveram... more

- by Bruno Biazatti
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- Human Rights, Brasil, State sovereignty

The Theses LVI belong to a series of hitherto unpublished early manuscripts of the Dutch humanist and jurisconsult Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) that were acquired by the University of Leiden in 1864. It is not certain when the Theses were written, but preliminary research on the physical manuscript and the sources cited indicate two possible windows. The first is around 1602-1605, that is roughly at a time when Grotius was also working on his Commentary on the Law of Prize and Booty (De Iure Praedae Commentarius). The second dating places the genesis of the manuscrbipt around 1613-1615.
In the context of Grotius’ writings, the Theses LVI assume an important position for several reasons: They raise questions about state formation, the duty of citizens to the state and the right of political resistance in far greater detail than in any other work of the celebrated Dutch humanist. The Theses LVI also feature important reading notes that yield priceless insights into the sources that Grotius directly consulted and their influence on his ideas. The manuscript grants modern scholars a unique glimpse into the working mind of its author. Evidence points not only to the ferocious haste with which Grotius wrote his works, but also the occasional sloppiness of his reading and research habits."""

- by Peter Borschberg
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- Social Theory, Political Philosophy, Political Theory, War Theory
- by Toby Applegate
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- Critical Theory, Race and Racism, Balkan Studies, Migration
- by Richard d'Apice
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- South Australia, State sovereignty, Government House, Royal arms

Liberland'ın Kurucu Başkan Vit Jedlicka ile konuştuk... Yakın tarihte eşine az rastlanır bir girişim olan Liberland, Hır-vatistan ve Sırbistan sınırları arasında kalan 7 kilometrekare-lik bir alanda yeni bir devlet olma iddiasıyla ortaya çıkmıştır. Liberland, modern devletin, insan hayatının birçok alanına mü-dahale eden otoriter uygulamalarına, merkeziyetçi yapısına ve geniş yetki sınırlarına aykırı bir uygulama ortaya koyma iddi-asındadır. Bu bağlamda geleneksel uygulamaların dışına çıka-rak e-vatandaşlık, dijital para birimi gibi yeni devlet pratikleri geliştirmektedir. Ÿ Monako ve Hong Kong gibi şehir ölçekli idari yapılardan ilham alan Liberland, büyük merkeziyetçi devletlerin yerine şehir dev-letlerinin var olduğu bir sistemi savunmaktadır. Ÿ Liberland'ın uluslararası kamuoyu tarafından kabul görmesi ve diğer devletler nezdinde destek bulması için şu ana kadar 80 ülkede temsilcilik ooisi açılmıştır. Her ne kadar devlet olmanın birer unsuru değillerse de diğer devletlerce henüz tanınmamış olması ve BM nezdinde bir resmiyetinin olmaması, bu iddiayı olumsuz etkilemektedir. Ÿ Liberland'ın bugün ve yakın gelecekte Uluslarası Hukuk düzle-minde bir devlet olarak kabul edilmesi-devlet olmanın unsurla-rını tam olarak karşılayamadığı gerekçesiyle-mümkün ve muh-temel gözükmese de, güncelliği dolayısıyla, bir örnek vaka ola-rak ele alınmıştır.

- by Deniz Baran
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- International Law, Devlet, State sovereignty, Egemenlik
- by Alessandro Somma
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- Welfare State, Social Democracy, Democrazia, State sovereignty
- by Eleni Siapikoudi
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- Globalization, Sovereignty, State Theory, World Economy

Public Policy, being a quintessential concept when it comes to International Law, is scarcely interpreted or even approached by present courts due to its complex nature. The purpose of this research paper would be to unify the meaning and purpose of this widely interpreted concept by looking into several interpretations courts have given over the course of time.

- by Gamunu Chandrasekera
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- Law, Public PolicyStudies, International Law, Arbitration

Essential for the conservation and sustainable use of a resource is having adequate and extensively recognized property regimes. Despite the widely accepted importance of genetic resources for future plant breeding and thus food security, there is still pervasive disagreement at the individual level on who should own genetic resources. Aim of the article is to provide conceptual clarification on the following concepts and their relation to agrobiodiversity: public good, open access, commons, private property, state property and common heritage of humankind. After presenting which rights each property regime recognizes, we will examine which moral responsibilities go a long with such privileges, particularly in regard to conserving and sharing genetic resources.

- by Cristian Timmermann and +1
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- Intellectual Property, Commons, Sustainable agriculture, Agrobiodiversity

Back cover text: Real Social Science presents a new, hands-on approach to social inquiry. The theoretical and methodological ideas behind the book, inspired by Aristotelian phronesis, represent an original perspective within the social sciences, and this volume gives readers for the first time a set of studies exemplifying what applied phronesis looks like in practice. The reflexive analysis of values and power gives new meaning to the impact of research on policy and practice. Real Social Science is a major step forward in a novel and thriving field of research. This book will benefit scholars, researchers, and students who want to make a difference in practice, not just in the academy. Its message will make it essential reading for students and academics across the social sciences.

- by Bent Flyvbjerg and +1
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- Screenwriting, Critical Theory, Critical Theory, Critical Theory

A prominent early modern Italian legal theorist and practicing lawyer, Alberico Gentili is regarded, along with Francisco de Vitoria and Hugo Grotius, as one of the founders of the science of the modern law of nations (ius gentium) and a major figure in the development of international relations. He designed a solid and autonomous framework for the law of nations based on three pillars: the Greco-Roman idea of natural law, the Justinian compilation of Roman law, and the-then novel Bodinian notion of sovereignty as supreme, perpetual, and indivisible power.
Gentili freed the law of nations from excessive scholastic influences and theological importations, avoiding metaphysical developments and overly subtle dialectics. He tried to build a system based on practice and experience. His legal construction is more inductive from events, episodes, customs, and facts, than deductive from unchanged premises. Providing some new arguments, he removed religion as a valid reason for conflict and war, he advocated for the legitimacy of non-Christian regimes, especially the Ottomans, and he tried to fix the tenuous lines of separation between jurisprudence and theology and between the internal forum and external forum of canon law. Neither the pope nor the Roman Catholic Church has a place in Gentili’s systematic account. His world-famous saying—silete theologi in munere alieno! —commands the theologian not to be involved in other people’s business and was claimed centuries later by the jurisprudence of European public law to argue in favor of the secularization of the law, beyond the limits Gentili himself intended.

- by Rafael Domingo Osle and +1
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- History, European History, Cultural History, Diplomatic History

"De 1442 à 1501, les Aragonais occupent le trône napolitain. Grâce à une riche documentation textuelle et iconographique, cet ouvrage retrace la construction de l’imaginaire monarchique dans le royaume de Naples, puis sa diffusion dans les cours alliées et ennemies. Les portraits physiques des cinq rois de la branche aragonaise de Naples, ainsi que leurs portraits symboliques, notamment héraldique et emblématique, permettent l’étude de l’incarnation d’une identité napolitaine. Au-delà du corps royal, l’unité de la Couronne se dit aussi dans les portraits des serviteurs de l'État et ceux de la familia royale, tout comme dans les rituels, la mise en scène des résidences royales et ducales, et par la création d’un nouveau visage topographique de la capitale et du royaume.
L’expression de la souveraineté s’inscrit dans un vaste mouvement méditerranéen, envisagé des années 1420 au XVIIe siècle, de Valence à Naples, Florence, Ferrare, Barcelone ou Marseille. Le mécénat des rois de Naples et de leurs proches, ainsi que leur choix iconographiques, apparaissent respectueux des traditions aragonaises, angevines et souabes, mais aussi résolument modernes en dialogue avec les Flandres, l’Espagne et l’Italie contemporaines. Seule monarchie de la péninsule, ces vaincus de l’histoire, déchus lors des Guerres d’Italie, lèguent à l’Europe moderne le triomphe et le portrait à l’antique, la chronique monumentale, le portrait de ville et le portrait monétaire."

- by Anne-Sophie Bourg
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- Medieval History, Sovereignty, Italian Humanism, State Theory

The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in Brima, Kamara and Kanu recognized that forced marriages may amount to crimes against humanity, falling under the sub-heading of ‘other inhumane acts’. This decision is to
be welcomed because the practice of forced marriage is not adequately described by existing categories of sexual crimes. As forced conjugality results in particular psychological and moral suffering for the victims, it is argued that this heinous
practice may be more appropriately pursued as a separate crime, under a definition that describes the entirety and complexity of the criminal conduct. The SCSL decision
may also be important for its impact on the activities of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The widespread practice of forced marriage presently features in all the situations being investigated by the ICC and the inclusion in the ICC
Statute of the offence of forced marriage as a separate crime against humanity could be discussed during the Review Conference in 2009.

- by Micaela Frulli
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- Criminology, Criminal Law, Criminal Justice, Gender Studies
- by Alessandro Arienzo
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- Globalization, Global Governance, Sovereignty, Globalization and Governance

This article explores the philosophical concepts of statehood in light of political realities in the modern world. This essay challenges the philosophical and legal concepts of what it means to be a sovereign state while arguing that... more

- by Phillip J Pillin
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- Political Philosophy, Areas of Limited Statehood, Statehood, Contested Statehood

This paper argues that green theory or a shift to a more environmentally sustainable model of International Relations (IR) is unlikely to become widely accepted so long as the idea of securitisation remains a priority of states. Securitisation does by contrast further elevate the idea of sovereignty and the need to protect one's private property whether it be physical or in in the form of information . This can be seen in terms of the state of semi conflict that is perpetuated around the world, from Russia to the Israel-Palestine conflict as well as with the rise of terrorism and groups like ISIS. Yet as long as this realist view of the state of conflict persists, it is unlikely that Green Theory will take precedence over issues of security and sovereignty. An exception can be seen to lie where climate change is instead perceived to be an issue of national security.

- by Ryan Hen-Boisen
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- International Relations Theory, Political Theory, Sovereignty, Political Science

En étudiant les controverses relatives aux mécanismes légitimes de régulation des faillites souveraines, cette enquête montre la capacité de résilience des instruments et des acteurs assurant la continuité d’un ordre marchand dans les domaines juridiques et financiers à l’échelle globale. À deux reprises, en 2002 à travers une initiative du Fonds monétaire international, puis en 2015 à l’Assemblée générale des Nations unies, les alternatives à la régulation par les marchés de capitaux, visant à installer un mécanisme juridique supranational, ont été disqualifiées. En s’appuyant sur une enquête auprès des acteurs et des institutions constitutives de la gouvernance économique internationale, l’article donne à voir le travail de consolidation de l’ordre marchand, et ce à quoi tient cet ordre global. Contrairement à une vision spontanée, les États ne sont pas exclusivement des « victimes » des marchés globalisés de la dette et des fonds « vautours » qui refusent les renégociations de dette et entament des procédures pour se faire rembourser intégralement. Au nom de leur attractivité financière et de leur accès aux ressources des marchés de capitaux globalisés, les départements du Trésor de différents États émergents se soumettent aux formats contractuels des places financières étrangères et concèdent une version restreinte de leurs pouvoirs souverains.

- by BENJAMIN LEMOINE and +1
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- International Relations, International Law, Sovereignty, Theories of the State

This paper identifies a global trend towards hardened, militarised borders through the use of military technologies, hardware and personnel. In contrast to claims of waning state sovereignty, drawing on detailed case studies from the United States and European Union, we argue the militarisation of borders represents a re-articulation and expansion of state sovereignty into new spaces and arenas. We argue that the nexus of military-security contractors, dramatically increased security budgets, and the discourse of threats from terrorism and immigration is resulting in a profound shift in border security. The construction of barriers, deployment of more personnel and the investment in a wide range of military and security technologies from drones to smart border technologies that attempt to monitor, identify and prevent unauthorised movements are emblematic of this shift. We link this increasing militarisation to dehumanisation of migrant others and to the increasing mortality in border spaces. By documenting this trend and identifying a range of different practices that are included under the rubric of militarisation, this paper is both a call for nuanced interpretation and more sustained investigation of the expansion of the military into the policing of borders.

- by Reece Jones
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- Political Geography and Geopolitics, Border Studies, Sovereignty, Militarism

il volume offre una lettura della questione dello stato di eccezione tessendo insieme, in una visione interdisciplinare, aspetti di teoria e filosofia del diritto, diritto costituzionale, diritto internazionale e filosofia del linguaggio. Ne emerge una nozione di sovranità che consente di far considerare come ormai tramontata quella assoluta, al fine di offrire uno strumento efficace per argomentare al suo fondamento la tutela dei diritti umani essenziali.

- by Giuliana Scotto
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- Philosophy Of Language, Political Philosophy, Political Theory, International Law
- by Thiago Bittencourt
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- Globalization, Sovereignty, Nation-State, State sovereignty

In 2006 the Prosecutor released two statements addressing
communications received by his Office concerning allegations of crimes committed in Venezuela and Iraq. The February 2006 communication of the Prosecutor discusses allegations received by the Office of the Prosecutor concerning genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Iraq. This Article will address the Prosecutor's decision concerning these alleged war crimes; in particular, allegations concerning wilful killing or inhuman treatment of civilians. The crimes alleged include mistreatment of prisoners, and multiple cases of unlawful
executions. The Prosecutor decided not to initiate an investigation into the alleged war crimes. Although he ultimately had reason to decide this way under the principle of complementarity, this Article will contend that the reasoning used in the decision was flawed, and many issues that should have been considered were not. Issues not addressed include the interests of victims, the interests of justice, and a broad consideration of the gravity of the alleged offences. The absence of such considerations from the communication has produced a dubious precedent in decisions concerning war crimes admissibility and the interests of victims in proceedings before the Court. Such elements should not be by-passed in future considerations by the Prosecutor of whether to initiate an
investigation.

- by Melanie O'Brien
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- Human Rights, International Criminal Law, Immigration Law, Human Trafficking

Den westfalske fetisj er ingen tekstuell fetisj. Betydningen Westfalerfreden er blitt tillagt i faget internasjonal politikk (IP) er i beste fall en myte, da traktatene undertegnet i Münster (IPM) og Osnabrück (IPO) 24. oktober 1648 – som til sammen utgjør det som kalles Westfalerfreden – forteller en helt annen historie. Westfalerfreden har tradisjonelt representert opprinnelsen til både staten, statssystemet og den moderne forståelsen av statssuverenitet. Men Westfalerfreden hadde lite å gjøre med noen av de ovennevnte. I den grad den hadde noen betydning, var det som en tilbakegang fra en allerede etablert idé om et moderne system av stater til en mer føydal orden. Suverenitetsbegrepet hadde heller ikke sin opprinnelse i 1648. Tvert imot ble idéen om at stater har full autoritet over sitt eget territorium begrenset i 1648. Det internasjonale statssystemet hadde derfor hverken sin opprinnelse eller formalisering i Westfalen, og verden etter 1648 var stort sett den samme som før.

- by Dr. E. Dilipraj
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- International Relations, Social Sciences, Geopolitics, Sovereignty

Theodor Herzl was not a major, original intellectual figure and should not be considered as such. Most of his ideas were not new, yet he left perhaps a bigger mark on twentieth-century Jewish life than any other Jewish figure. Herzl was also not a prolific writer, and his heritage remains more political than literary. Nevertheless he wrote three key works: The Jewish State (1896) and Altneuland (The Old New Land; 1902) are his major writings; while the earliest of the three, a play titled The New Ghetto, written in the transitional period around 1894, offers a glimpse into Herzl’s world and his evolving attitude toward antisemitism. The Jewish State is written in a dry but eloquent style and includes his analysis of anti- semitism, in which he advances the idea of a Jewish state as the only possible alternative. Altneuland, on the other hand, takes the form of a realistic novel, allowing Herzl to imagine cultural and political life in the new society. His vision addresses the nature of relations between Jews and Arabs, Jews and Gentiles, wealthy and poor Jews, and religious and secular elements of society.

- by Raef Zreik
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- Sovereignty, Liberalism, Antisemitism (Prejudice), Nationalism