International Law Archives

The Political Perimeter

Francesca Albanese and the limits of international humanitarian law

April 15, 2026 • by Coleson Smith

In the wake of the Gaza War, a place in time that has become its own world-historical moment, the invocation of international law as a means of remedying Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians rings hollow. After all, did bombs not continue to fall on Gaza even after South Africa brought ...

Middle East & North Africa

Palestine and the Subversion of International Law

How the UNRWA paradox underpins Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing

June 17, 2024 • by Widad Tamimi

For Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, freedom of movement is non-existent. But to flee is to lose one’s right of return. International law underpins Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing....

Palestine and the Subversion of International Law

Migration

Migration as a Claim for Reparations

The connections between political agency and migration

December 7, 2020 • by Lea Coffineau

In October 2016, Hussein and I met over coffee at a Tunisian pastry shop in the north of Paris to follow up on his administrative battle with the French government. We had spent months filing paperwork together, building the strongest possible case for his asylum application. Hussein had fled Sudan ...

Politics

The U.S. and UK Are a Wrecking Ball Crew Against the Pillars of Internationalism

They have undermined the sovereignty of nations and mutilated international law

July 13, 2020 • by Vijay Prashad

Ambassador Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, spoke at the same meeting. She praised the charter and called upon the member states of the UN to bring its values into the world. However, Ambassador Craft said, “On far too many occasions, we have seen nations that are parties ...

The U.S. and UK Are a Wrecking Ball Crew Against the Pillars of Internationalism

History

Our Man: the Life and Times of Diplomat Richard Holbrooke

An interview with biographer George Packer about war and humanity in the foreign service

March 31, 2020 • by George Packer and Charlotte Slivka

Charlotte Slivka [CS]: Thank you, George, for agreeing to do this interview, I really appreciate it and the whole community does especially in the face of the NBCC awards ceremony being postponed due to COVID-19. George Packer [GP]: That was a real downer but I’m happy to do it. Are you ...

Our Man: the Life and Times of Diplomat Richard Holbrooke

Migration

Grassroots Asylum

Escaping the Statist Paradigm

December 17, 2019 • by Simon Behrman

Because the asylum framework is constructed upon such subjective criteria, and is administered by states themselves, the decisions about who receives protection are stuck within a statist paradigm. Asylum is conceived of as a gift of the state, over which the state has discretion in how requests are considered. And ...