Duration
04 Jul 2016 - 15 Jul 2016
In the unfolding scholarly debate about the value of international criminal courts, there is growing understanding that criminal proceedings dealing with mass atrocities and political violence always have a number of ‘extra-legal’ impacts, especially on the recording of the history of conflicts.
More generally, understanding how mass atrocities come to be committed as crimes in armed conflicts requires consideration within many disciplines. No one discipline – law, political science, history, social science – can provide a comprehensive and satisfactory account and the citizens, whom all disciplines should serve, look for answers because they genuinely seek an end to war, something seemingly denied them by politicians. Exploring these issues with faculty and ‘students’ from many countries and many disciplines proves advantageous for all and by approaching the fundamental issue or war or peace may serve the common good.