Commentaries

Posted on November 5, 2014
The Mediterranean Sea. Screenshot from NASA World Wind

Mare Nostrum and migrant deaths: the humanitarian paradox at Europe’s frontiers

by Ruben Andersson

An industry has grown up around migratory routes in which care and control functions alternately clash and merge with each other. Understanding the humanitarian-policing nexus at play is key to moving beyond the current impasse.

Posted on October 27, 2014
E magazine

Globalisation and the Humanitarian Alternative

by Iavor Rangelov

In this Op-Ed, first published in German in the print edition of The European in September 2014, Iavor Rangelov argues that normative commitment to protecting civilians in conflict, embedded in an emerging global humanitarian regime, continues to be hampered by nationally organised security capabilities. As a result the fate of civilians in conflict tends to be tied to the domestic interest and politics of a few states with the capability to intervene while, when decisions to intervene are taken, intervention is carried out by organisations intended for war-fighting and possessing attributes that cannot be easily harnessed for making people safe. While the war on terror has created deep suspicion about intervention among western publics, Rangelov argues, humanitarian catastrophes like that now unfolding in Syria make a functioning global humanitarian regime more necessary than ever.

Posted on June 8, 2014
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Mali after the storm

by Ruben Andersson

May was a particularly fraught month in Mali, underscoring the fragility of the momentum built since the French military intervention of early 2013. In the wake of May's events, Ruben Andersson draws attention to three factors that may prove decisive both to how the conflict in Mali develops in coming months and to how the people of Mali perceive their international guests.

Posted on June 7, 2014

Judging and Judgment in the 21st Century: The ICC’s Confrontation with Africa’s Leaders

by Professor Ruti Teitel

Having enjoyed strong support from African states the International Criminal Court (ICC) has recently faced vocal criticism from African leaders, who accuse it of having become a neo-colonial tool, used by powerful states to target Africans. How should we interpret these recent criticisms, and what are the implications for the ICC's future activities? Professor Ruti Teitel considers the evidence.

Posted on December 3, 2013
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Who researches the researchers?

by Anouk S. Rigterink

On Fieldwork in South Sudan, Anouk Rigterink saw first-hand how researchers can inadvertently affect the environments they set out to study.

Posted on September 30, 2013
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Syria: Lattakia transformed

by Bahar Sahlawi

Lattakia, a coastal region in Syria, has not seen the levels of violence and destruction which other parts of Syria have. However, the conflict has changed the city and the nearby region in several important ways.

Posted on August 2, 2013
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Human Security and the Niger Delta

by Virginia Browne, Tessa de Geus, Wendy Gong and Mariko Park

The exploitation of oil in Nigeria has been at the heart of inter-related crises of governance, militancy and violent repression, and large-scale environmental destruction. Students from the Human Security Masters course discuss a human security approach to breaking this cycle.

Posted on July 30, 2013
Predator

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles from a Human Security Perspective

by Payam Akram, Oliver Clarke, Aditi Gupta and Ilya Jones

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have steadily become established as key weapons in the US military effort in Afghanistan and in the wider policy of hunting and killing terrorists around the world. The argument that, of all the alternatives, drones are the least likely to result in loss of innocent life, has been important in convincing Americans that drone strikes are justified. Emerging evidence, however, suggests that drone strikes have resulted in heavy loss of civilian life and deep resentment among communities who live beneath them. Meanwhile, the policy strains core principles of international law. Curbing drone strikes will require that US citizens understand the counter-productive effects of such a policy on the ground and apply pressure upon their government. From a human security perspective, the challenge is to reopen spaces at all levels for discussion and reconciliation.

Posted on June 19, 2013
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Civil Society Dialogue in Syria

by Mary Kaldor

Mary Kaldor reflects on her participation in a civil society dialogue on the future of Syria that recently took place in Beirut. Despite major differences of opinion, she notes, groups from all over the country agree on the need to stop the fighting and share a vision of a multicultural and cosmopolitan Syria.

Posted on June 12, 2013

War Reporting and the Rise of Citizen Journalism

by Heather Blake

Over the past decade, Reporter's Without Borders has documented a steady rise in the number of journalists becoming targets in conflict-affected countries. Over the same period changes in communications technology have been seized upon by a new breed of citizen journalist who are reporting on events in conflict-affected countries as they unfold. While journalists and citizen journalists have been resourceful in responding to the new opportunities and risks of digital media, RSF research suggests that some governments are responding with a raft of measures of their own, using technology to monitor and target both dissidents and journalists.