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Abstract
Since the beginning of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that started on 24 February 2022 accusations of genocide have been levelled against each other by both sides. This article focuses on the claim that Russia is carrying out a genocide in Ukraine. After explaining the concept of genocide and the legal consequences of such qualification, the article applies the law to the situation, drawing the conclusion that, based on the current information, it does not appear that a genocide is being committed as, so far, no dolus specialis can be identified.
Abstract
The issue of the necessity to bring those responsible for the commission of crimes under international law during the ongoing international armed conflict in Ukraine, i.e., the aggressive war of the Russian Federation against sovereign Ukraine, does not raise any principal questions or doubts on the side of the international community. It is the matter of an appropriate forum, or fora to do so that needs to be properly addressed. This piece looks at possible judicial venues for holding the main ringleader of the aggressive war, namely, the President of the Russian Federation, and his closest high-ranking officials personally accountable for core crimes as a matter of individual criminal responsibility. Prospects for three judicial mechanisms, either already existing or potential, are reviewed and brief reflections are offered as to the realistic scenarios for each of those mechanisms given the status quo and ongoing developments.
Abstract
This editorial commentary examines the justifications put forward by the Russian government for its “special military operation” against the background of the law governing the use of force (jus ad bellum). It also addresses the relevance of that body of law in light of what has transpired since the Russian invasion of Ukraine commenced.
Abstract
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has once again brought the question of the limits of the veto by the P5 in the UN Security Council into the spotlight. This short piece examines the possibility of the veto power of the P5 being restricted and the possibility of reform of the UN Charter to restrict or abolish the veto. After concluding that the drafting of the Charter makes these approaches unworkable it then considers the possibility of the UN being reformed under a new Charter that has a more equitable Security Council – concluding that such an approach is functionally impossible.
Abstract
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine violated international norms more than many thought imaginable in the year 2022, but the global effort to aid Kyiv has also exceeded expectations. Where does this leave the international order? In terms of peace and security, the order is not destroyed but fractured; global political economics are not de-coupled but more disjointed; and non-traditional security cooperation may be increasing but supply is falling further behind demand. Defeating Russian aggression is only the beginning of an uncertain order rebuilding project involving efforts at more coordinated trade standards, principled engagement with China, and institutionalized cooperation on transnational threats, including climate change.
Abstract
Since 24 February 2022, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has entailed large-scale violations of international humanitarian law (ihl), which are being investigated by Ukraine, some of its European allies, and the International Criminal Court (icc) as war crimes. This short commentary provides an overview of selected jus in bello issues raised by the invasion, and highlights implications for the dissemination and implementation of ihl in Russia, Ukraine and beyond in a mid-term perspective.
Abstract
This article considers what the responsibility to protect populations from atrocity crimes (R2P) requires States to do in Ukraine. It begins by considering how the R2P’s ‘three-pillar’ implementation strategy is to be understood in relation to a situation in which atrocities are being perpetrated not by a State against its own population but by an aggressor State; and then considers the parallels between what is required of States by the political commitment to the R2P, and what is required by the legal obligations to prevent genocide and to cooperate to end serious breaches of peremptory norms. The second part of the article then considers a series of options that may be pursued by States in fulfilment of their R2P and corresponding legal obligations, from options falling short of military intervention (including legal proceedings, economic and diplomatic sanctions and military assistance) through to the possibilities of unilateral military intervention and UN peacekeeping.
Abstract
The article explores the ways in which Vietnamese international doctoral students participated in and influenced social spaces to produce diasporic subjectivity among Vietnamese diasporic communities in the study countries, and how this diasporic subjectivity was produced in what I term ‘diasporised moments’. Guided by theory of space, I look at how Vietnamese doctoral students negotiated their ‘membership’ of those communities, how their national identity was challenged and contested, and how their nostalgia was triggered against the backdrop of their transnational life, leading to their diasporic subjectivity in the making. I argue that the theoretical bearings of space allow us to expand our understanding of the integration of international students into life on foreign soil beyond the common assumption of integration into the local culture only. I further argue that international students do not purely experience homesickness but actually produce diasporic subjectivity in their temporary migration for academic pursuits.
Abstract
This article examines the politics of cultural production in the Kurdish diaspora in Berlin and Stockholm. The paper argues that Kurdish cultural actors deploy various forms of cultural production as a strategy to restore Kurdish collective heritage and cultural identities and achieve visibility for the Kurdish cause. Furthermore, the politics of cultural production serves to promote universal solidarity for particularistic Kurdish agendas and challenges oppressive policies of ruling Turkish, Iranian and Arab governments. Finally, this article aims to address the integration of Kurdish refugees and boost cohesive diasporic communities to overcome exilic conditions. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, in-depth interviews with twenty-five Kurdish artists and intellectuals, and participant observations in Berlin and Stockholm, the paper sheds light on how Kurdish cultural production in the diaspora offers an alternative approach to understanding and tackling complex matters. However, at the same time, cultural production can become an object of contention and political mobilisation.