Prevention: Core to the Responsibility to Protect
Motivated both by analytical rigor and political expediency, ICISS sandwiched its discussion of international response to atrocities between what it described as a “responsibility to prevent” and a “responsibility to rebuild.” Once introduced, however, the logic of prevention as core to the global atrocity agenda was difficult to deny. Why wait to halt a massacre if early engagement might avert it entirely?
If hate is the problem, how can hate be the solution?
Hatred is a current ‘cool’ fad, but a terribly dangerous one. As with Holocaust deniers, evidence does not deter those Islamophobes who smear all Muslims. Since Muslims are roughly 1/5 of the world’s population, they would be wrecking massive worldwide havoc if their nefarious goal was domination and destruction of all non-Muslims. It clearly isn’t.
R2P: Seeking Perfection in an Imperfect World
While the development of R2P as a concept has been the preserve of international relations theoreticians (albeit ones with large amounts of practical experience), its implementation rests on the practitioners of the day. And these practitioners deal in the world of realpolitik with all of its inconsistencies, relativities and competing national interests.
How to Lose a Revolution
Some are calling the coalition intervention that began 19 March 2011, in Libya a success. I call tens of thousands of deaths and injuries a tragedy. When such casualties occur owing to a military intervention never shown to be necessary, the intervention is a failure.
What is Turkey trying to accomplish with its Syria policy?
As Turkey readies sanctions against Syria, there is some confusion as to how one best reads the relationship between these two neighbors. Until this year, the government of Turkey led by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) appeared friendly with the Assad regime, and has spent the recent months diplomatically urging Bashar Assad to curb his violent crackdowns against protesters.
Ten Years of the War on Terror
On both ‘sides’ of the war on terror, unrealistic assessments of the possible combined with controversially broad and value-laden conceptions of ‘self-defence’ look a lot like ideological warfare.
Putin Returns
Putin will remain in power until 2024, barring assassination or revolution, and will become Russia’s longest ruling leader since Stalin. He is not known for his willingness to compromise or surrender Russia’s imperial gains, suggesting that a new time of troubles is looming on the horizon. This will indicate whether the West still sees Russia as a political part of Europe or has concluded that the country cannot be changed and the days of democratization have become a historical footnote.
Religion and Faith-based Organisations in Africa: the forgotten actors
Modernity-inspired international development has often failed when not taking into account local context, culture and belief. Failing to consider religion risks the failure of enduring social change. This seems a more productive and appropriate way of framing societies and people’s lives, rather than suggesting secularity should supersede other forms of faith.
The Responsibility to Protect and the Problem of Regime Change
Because of the deep concern on the part of many UN member states that RtoP could give rise to a regime change agenda and the equally deep global opposition to such an agenda, it is incumbent on us to explore the relationship more deeply in order to ascertain whether there are ways of maintaining a clear distinction between RtoP and regime change without sacrificing the protection of civilians.
The Triumph of the Nation-State: Reflections on Yugoslavia Twenty Years After
Twenty years ago, the country known until then as Yugoslavia plunged into war. Over the next decade, a succession of armed conflicts on the territory of the “former Yugoslavia” would recurrently make headlines. The wars spelled the end not just of a multinational state, but of any prospect of a viable multinational society at a local level.
