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.
After the Georgia war, Open Democracy, 22 September 2008
The Caucasus war exposes a failure of global leadership. It's time for a new citizens' movement. Go to Open Democracy for the full text.
My Lai to Haditha: war, massacre and justice, Open Democracy, 17 March 2008
A thread of degenerate war and military impunity links atrocities in the Vietnam and Iraq conflicts, says Martin Shaw. Go to Open Democracy for the full text.
The genocide file: reply to Anthony Dworkin, Open Democracy, 6 March 2007
The admitted evidence of Serbian atrocities in Bosnia makes the International Court of Justice ruling self-contradictory, insists Martin Shaw. Go to Open Democracy for the full text.
Genocide: rethinking the concept, Open Democracy, 1 February 2007
An understanding of the term "genocide" that draws afresh on the experience of the last century is needed to ensure greater human security in the next, says Martin Shaw. Go to Open Democracy for the full text.
Martin Shaw 