General post about this blog

This is a blog about global politics, human rights and international law. The subjects that will be discussed here will be focused primarily on political, economic, and legal implications of armed conflicts around the world, where groups are committing mass atrocities against innocent civilians with impunity.

In dozens of regions around the world, innocent civilians are currently being targeted by mass atrocities. In the few years since the turn of the century, we have seen: ongoing genocide in Darfur; massive insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan; prolonged military repression in Burma; political violence in Kenya and now Zimbabwe; resurgence of deadly conflict in countries such as Somalia; Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka,....the list goes on and on.

Although national and international peacekeeping forces of varying sizes and structures have been deployed and even wars have been waged to combat these egregious acts, the current state of international politics has yet to develop an adequate mechanism that allows for the protection of civilians and the prevention of future conflict. A far deeper problem lies in the lack of infrastructure and resources that is available for post-conflict economic development. Regardless of burgeoning advocacy efforts for civilian protection, victims of mass atrocities continue to be stripped of property, access to economic resources, and political voice.

Furthermore, the pursuit of justice via international criminal tribunals has continued to lack efficiency and teeth. The government of Sudan continues to ignore the International Criminal Court's warrants against its ministers. Criminal tribunals in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, and Cambodia continue to encounter hordes of obstacles. With global judicial initiatives proceeding at a snail's pace, impunity continues to thrive unabated. On the US front, the legal proceedings against the alleged terrorists that are controversially detained at Guantanamo Bay have become entangled in jurisdictional appeals and federal intervention. Frustrations and growing pains continue to challenge the field of international law.

As the world emerged from bipolar Cold War politics in the 1990s, effectively responding (or not) to large-scale mass atrocities has been a tremendous headache for policymakers. One of the main points of tension comes from the struggle of finding the right balance between maintaining national interest, and appropriating desired levels of funding and resources. As globalization continues to develop international infrastructure and cooperation, tracking this debate becomes critical in the twenty-first century.

As international norms are beginning to evolve to put a stronger emphasis on human rights, unprecedented levels of activism (especially from students) have surfaced to help end the genocide in Darfur, divest from companies that have investments in the Sudan, protest human rights violations against Tibet, and military repression in Burma. As societal values and demands of consumers begin to take these issues into account in the twenty-first century, these conflicts begin to pose significant implications not only to global politics but also to the marketplace, international law, and cultural interactions.

This blog hopes to bring these kinds of issues up for discussion. All comments welcome!