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Full-Text Articles in International Relations
November Roundtable: The Palestine Bid For Statehood At The Un, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes Julio
November Roundtable: The Palestine Bid For Statehood At The Un, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes Julio
Human Rights & Human Welfare
An annotation of:
“Statehood versus “Facts on the Ground””. By Richard Falk. Aljazeera, September 20, 2011.
The Sum Of The Parts, Therese O'Donnell
The Sum Of The Parts, Therese O'Donnell
Human Rights & Human Welfare
From one perspective the Middle East lends itself as a macabre mise-en-scene where the triumph of realpolitik over the legitimacies of international law can be continually re-staged. To be sure, at least two sovereign states seem to go their own way, even in the face of rampant and valid international criticism—the end of a construction freeze on illegal settlements and failures to condemn clearly illustrate this point. However, two can play at that game. The US veto of the October 2003 draft Security Council resolution declaring as illegal Israel’s construction of its security fence, beyond the 1949 Green Line and …
The Us On The Palestinian Statehood Bid: Weighing The Costs, Thomas Pegram
The Us On The Palestinian Statehood Bid: Weighing The Costs, Thomas Pegram
Human Rights & Human Welfare
Reflecting on the controversy surrounding the Palestinian bid for statehood, Richard Falk neatly subverts the opening words of the UN Charter, “we the people,” as having always surrendered to “we the governments,” and, in the modern era of American empire, “we the hegemon.”
This may well be true. The UN Security Council (UNSC), in particular, is viewed in Washington as a vehicle for hegemonic ambitions—to be indulged when it serves its purpose and vetoed and sidelined when it does not. Unfolding events at the UNSC, reportedly due to vote on the Palestinian resolution on November 11 but now postponed perhaps …
Palestinian Refugees: Protection In Exile, Vivienne Chew
Palestinian Refugees: Protection In Exile, Vivienne Chew
Human Rights & Human Welfare
The Palestinian refugee problem is perhaps the most critical and complex of the outstanding issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sixty-two years have now passed since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced en masse and rendered stateless. Since then, successive generations of Palestinian refugees have endured discrimination, insecurity, repeated cycles of displacement, and infringement of their basic rights and freedoms.
Stopping The Killing And/Or Stopping Human Rights Violations, Edward Friedman
Stopping The Killing And/Or Stopping Human Rights Violations, Edward Friedman
Human Rights & Human Welfare
The relationship between promoting human rights and stopping wars can be perplexing. The 19th century origins of the Geneva Convention and the International Commissions of the Red Cross (ICRC) are warnings about the moral danger, ambiguities, or tensions of bringing war within the arena of human rights considerations. Human rights and war can be a toxic cocktail. One should not want to make war more likely or legitimate or deadly by seeming to say that the killing machine on one side or the other is acting humanely, as if that makes war okay. War is hell.
Healing From War To End All Wars, Christien Van Den Anker
Healing From War To End All Wars, Christien Van Den Anker
Human Rights & Human Welfare
The First World War was known as the war to end all wars. After the Second World War, and especially in reference to the Holocaust, the urgent slogan was “Never Again.” Although these hopes to end war and genocide have not yet been fulfilled, they inspired the worldwide moral stance against war and a host of international instruments and bodies contributed to the protection of both civilians and combatants during war.
Proportional To Life, Emma Gilligan
Proportional To Life, Emma Gilligan
Human Rights & Human Welfare
The Economist piece entitled “Proportional to what?” poses a dangerous question. The notion, as the article suggests, that proportionality in war is a “slippery idea” or that the facts are “nebulous” is the work of either an intentionally provocative or idly cynical author. Whatever the motivation for the words, it is precisely the dismissive tone embodied in such statements that has contributed to and defined the attitude more recently of larger states, like Israel and Russia, to issues of accountability for the death of civilians.
Protecting Human Rights In Conflict, Clair Apodaca
Protecting Human Rights In Conflict, Clair Apodaca
Human Rights & Human Welfare
The Just War Theory of Jus in Bello is the international community’s attempt to ensure respect for human rights and human welfare during armed conflicts. The principle of proportionality and the obligation to distinguish between combatants and civilians in attacks are two related notions that are fundamental to the protection of human rights during conflict. The principle of proportionality limits the amount of violence and destruction that is morally permissible. By contrast, the principle of discrimination (or distinction) discriminates between legitimate targets, such as soldiers and weapons depots, and illegitimate targets, specifically noncombatants such as civilian populations and their property.
Proportionality And Unjust Wars, Sarah Stanlick
Proportionality And Unjust Wars, Sarah Stanlick
Human Rights & Human Welfare
As violence rages in the Middle East, policymakers, academics, and the public alike have been embroiled in debate over the proportional use of force. As The Economist article points out, historical grievances leave both Israelis and Palestinians with compelling arguments for defense and resistance. However, at this point, the cycle of violence has perpetuated blame that goes beyond a simple tally sheet. World leaders remain divided on the rights and wrongs of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but human rights groups internationally are crying out for Israel and Hamas to end attacks that “do not discriminate between civilians and military targets.” While …
February Roundtable: Introduction
February Roundtable: Introduction
Human Rights & Human Welfare
An annotation of:
“Proportional to What?” The Economist. December 30, 2008.
Nigel Parsons On Israel's Occupation By Neve Gordon. Berkley, Ca: University Of California Press, 2008. 318pp., Nigel Parsons
Nigel Parsons On Israel's Occupation By Neve Gordon. Berkley, Ca: University Of California Press, 2008. 318pp., Nigel Parsons
Human Rights & Human Welfare
A review of:
Israel's Occupation by Neve Gordon. Berkley, CA: University of California Press, 2008. 318pp.
Memory And Violence In Israel/Palestine, K. M. Fierke
Memory And Violence In Israel/Palestine, K. M. Fierke
Human Rights & Human Welfare
A review of:
Israeli and Palestinian Narratives of Conflict: History’s Double Helix, edited by Robert I. Rotberg. Indiana University Press, 2006.
and
Memory and Violence in the Middle East and North Africa, edited by Ussama Makdisi and Paul A. Silverstein. Indiana University Press, 2006.
Geopolitics Or Human Rights?, Judith Blau
Geopolitics Or Human Rights?, Judith Blau
Human Rights & Human Welfare
George Soros’ article, “On Israel, America and AIPAC” serves as a sobering reminder that the human rights revolution is constantly being scuttled by geopolitics that not only sideline human rights, but more devastatingly undermine their premises. I happen to agree with him that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a major obstacle to the U.S. normalizing relations with any country in the Middle East, including and especially Israel. AIPAC is something of a misnomer because it is a coalition, not a committee, and some of its key members include neo-cons, as Soros mentions, as well as Christian evangelicals. …
Engagement As A Way Toward Peace, Mahmood Monshipouri
Engagement As A Way Toward Peace, Mahmood Monshipouri
Human Rights & Human Welfare
The Bush administration’s active support for the Israeli government is counterproductive in its refusal to recognize a Palestinian unity government which includes Hamas. A great majority of American Jews have called for Israel to withdraw from the territories occupied in 1967 and support the creation of a Palestinian state. A hard-line minority of politicians in the United States, along with their affiliated media networks and think-tanks, have continued to dominate the main Jewish lobbying group, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
June Roundtable: Introduction
Human Rights & Human Welfare
An annotation of:
“On Israel, America and AIPAC” by George Soros. New York Review of Books. April 12, 2007.
Should Supporters Of Israel Embrace An "Open Society"?, Harry Kreisler
Should Supporters Of Israel Embrace An "Open Society"?, Harry Kreisler
Human Rights & Human Welfare
Organizations, such as lobbies, must adapt to changes in their environment or they risk mission failure and possible extinction. Adaptation requires new ideas, new constituencies, and rigorous self-analysis. A vigorous internal debate raises the possibility of corrections in course as an organization navigates through its changing environment.
Aipac's Good Intentions Undermine Israel's Interests, Ali Wyne
Aipac's Good Intentions Undermine Israel's Interests, Ali Wyne
Human Rights & Human Welfare
While the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is nominally pro-Israel, its advice undermines Israel’s interests. It does not encourage Israel to make concessions, but rather recommends that Israel ignore the reformists within and outside of it. The folly of such counsel becomes apparent when one recognizes that Israel’s current strategy cannot be sustained.
Polemics In The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Jerome Slater
Polemics In The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Jerome Slater
Human Rights & Human Welfare
A review of:
The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2003. 264pp.
and
Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History by Norman G. Finkelstein. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. 332pp.
Israel, Sydney Fisher
Israel, Sydney Fisher
Human Rights & Human Welfare
Israel and Palestine have been in an “interim period” between full scale occupation and a negotiated end to the conflict for a long time. This supposedly intermediate period in the conflict has seen no respite from violations of Palestinians’ human rights or the suicide bombings affecting Israelis. This section will provide resources spanning the issues regarding Israel, Palestine and how the human rights dimensions of this conflict interact with the war on terror. The issue of how both sides will arrive at peace remains a mystery.