The trial of the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is a test of justice and accountability over terrible crimes. But the trend of events in Bosnia itself also demands the international community’s urgent attention, says Martin Shaw. The trial of Radovan Karadzic, leader of the Serbian nationalist regime in Bosnia in the early 1990s, resumed… Continue reading The Karadzic trial and Bosnian realities, Open Democracy, 3 November 2009
Author: Martin Shaw
DR Congo: arc of war, map of responsibility, Open Democracy, 14 October 2009
The political dynamics of conflict in Africa’s most complex region must be understood if enduring solutions are to be found. Martin Shaw reads fellow openDemocracy contributor Gerard Prunier’s book “From Genocide to Continental War”. The reports of an upsurge of violence in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may at a glance appear… Continue reading DR Congo: arc of war, map of responsibility, Open Democracy, 14 October 2009
Israeli settlements and “ethnic cleansing”, Open Democracy, 26 August 2009
The argument that the dismantling of Israeli communities in the Palestinian West Bank would amount to "ethnic cleansing" is increasingly being heard. It deserves close examination of a kind its proponents may not welcome, says Martin Shaw. An intense political engagement over the question of West Bank settlements is continuing between the Barack Obama administration… Continue reading Israeli settlements and “ethnic cleansing”, Open Democracy, 26 August 2009
Afghanistan and Iraq: western wars, genocidal risks, 24 July 2009
The enormous harm inflicted on civilians by the “new western way of war” can be measured in tens of thousands of deaths and displacements. But Washington and London’s responsibility goes even wider, says Martin Shaw. Go to Open Democracy for full text. (This article was published on 24 July 2009)
Sri Lanka – camps, media…genocide? Open Democracy, 30 June 2009
What kind of violence has the Sri Lankan state been committing against its Tamil civilian population as the island‘s civil war ended; on what scale and with what intentions? Martin Shaw explores the difficult terrain where war, atrocity and genocide meet. Go to Open Democracy for full text.
The trouble with guns: Sri Lanka, South Africa, Ireland – Open Democracy, 10 June 2009
The use of violence as an instrument of political liberation leads rather to failure and regression, says Martin Shaw. Go to Open Democracy for full text.
A century of genocide, 1915-2009, Open Democracy, 23 April 2009
The Armenian massacres belong to a wider pattern of "mass death" forged in war and state rivalry. Go to Open Democracy for the full text.
The Kosovo War Ten Years After, Open Democracy, 31 March 2009
The Nato assault that prised Kosovo from Slobodan Milosevic's grip in March-June 1999 has been overshadowed by the Iraq war four years later. It deserves renewed attention both as the last of the major ex-Yugoslav conflicts and as a pioneering example of modern "risk-transfer war", says Martin Shaw. Go to Open Democracy for the full text.… Continue reading The Kosovo War Ten Years After, Open Democracy, 31 March 2009
Uses of genocide: Kenya, Georgia, Israel, Sri Lanka, 9 February 2009
The concept of genocide has become a weapon of political polemic. But the violence inflicted on civilians in four conflicts shows how it is also rooted in the logic of modern wars, says Martin Shaw. Go to Open Democracy for the full text.
Israel’s politics of war, Open Democracy, 20 January 2009
The impact of Israel's three-week assault on Gaza on the civilian Palestinian population is revealing of its true character, says Martin Shaw.Go to Open Democracy for the full text.
Martin Shaw 