Political scientist at London School of Economics with interests in (i) genocide, war & peace, & interethnic relations; (ii) Africa, development, & kleptocracy.
Londoner with Guyanese roots
Joined December 2008
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As a genocide scholar, I have tried to understand the arguments I have read for why Israel’s conduct in Gaza does not constitute genocide. I struggle. The counter-arguments are not difficult. Here are 8 arguments I've heard and what I think in response. 1/n
For those interested in the rapidly-evolving debate on the question of genocide in Gaza, this piece just came out:
"It’s Hamas’ Fault, You’re an Antisemite, and We Had No Choice": Techniques of Genocide Denial in Gaza
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.…
Omar Shahabudin McDoom retweeted
As a student at LSE in the 1960s I was involved in protests over Rhodesia which led to ill-conceived disciplinary action that was eventually overturned. Now I & others are supporting today’s students suspended for peaceful protest over Gaza, explained here tribunemag.co.uk/2024/11/the…
As the tweet says, we are proud to see the Journal of Genocide Research’s 2023 ranking is now 59/317 in Political Science with an Impact Factor of 2.6. This score would make it the highest impact journal in History were it still listed there. Credit to Dirk Moses, senior editor.
The @JournalGenocide started to be ranked from 2022 onwards. We, in the edit team, had been asking T&F to do this for a while. The new @Scopus rankings show that we are a Q1 journal and @Clarivate gives us an impact factor score of 2.6 and a ranking of 59/317 in Political Sc 1/2
All eyes on LSE Council voting on #divestment. @LSENews has been given a mandate and opportunity to align its investments with international law, human rights and its own ethical standards. See the Assets in Apartheid Report: shorturl.at/Gza6K. #LSEDivest #LSECouncil
Yet another atrocity crime by Netanyahu credibly documented.
Would he do this to residential buildings in Tel Aviv if Hezbollah militants were inside?
It is the double standard in the valuation of civilian lives that belies the claims the IDF is the world’s most moral army.
NEW: Israel's use of white phosphorus in south Lebanon is putting civilians at risk and contributing to displacement.
HRW verified the use of white phosphorus munitions by Israeli forces in at least 17 municipalities in south Lebanon since Oct. 2023. bit.ly/4bJ90SF
Historic moment. ICC Prosecutor requests warrants for Israeli leaders for war crimes in Gaza. Finally, a step toward ending Israel's impunity for violating international law. And a warning to other states who think their democratic credentials exempt them from scrutiny.
Brace for claims of anti-semitism and blood libel against Karim Khan. And all manner of threats and pressure from Washington.
ft.com/content/87819313-c339… via @ft
Credit to LSE students building a coalition and consensus for the university to divest of companies complicit in atrocity crimes in the OPT.
Assets in Apartheid, a report by LSE Palestine Society, is now live!
The report shows that £89 million of university investments are complicit in the genocide of Palestinians, arms trade, and climate breakdown.
Read here: lsepalestine.github.io/docum…
With the world’s attention on Gaza and Ukraine, atrocity crimes being committed elsewhere go unnoticed all too often. HRW continues to shine a light on those forgotten wars. Here’s an excellent report on the Sudan’s Darfur region.
🚨In a new 218-pg report, @hrw documents widespread war crimes & crimes against humanity as part of the RSF's ethnic cleansing campaign in West #Darfur #Sudan. Concerted global action is needed NOW to stop further atrocities & hold perpetrators to account.
hrw.org/report/2024/05/09/ma…
Astonishing threats from 12 US senators targeting ICC staff AND their families if the ICC investigates members of Netanyahu’s government for possible war crimes. Is there still a doubt in anyone’s mind regarding the influence of the pro-Israel lobby in US politics?
Read the letter from 12 Republican senators threatening ICC chief prosecutor @KarimKhanQC with "severe" consequences for him, his family & staff if he goes ahead with an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. "You have been warned."
Oh and subscribe to Zeteo too:
zeteo.com/p/exclusive-you-ha…
At the Journal of Genocide Research, we invited international legal scholars - with different positionalities - to offer their view on the current situation in Israel & the OPT. Here is the first.
Genocide and Resistance in Palestine under Law’s Shadow.
doi.org/10.1080/14623528.202…
Omar Shahabudin McDoom retweeted
Quite a statement by the International Criminal Court, asking that they stop being "intimidated" and "threatened" (no brownie point for guessing by whom...)
We can only imagine the pressure they must be under...
And those threats are real: remember that the US has a law colloquially known as the "Hague Invasion Act", that authorizes the president of the U.S. "to use all means necessary to bring about the release of any person described in subsection (b) who is being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court" (en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amer…).
And a reminder that starting in 2019 the US DID implemented sanctions and travel restrictions against ICC employees engaged in investigating potential allied war crimes in Afghanistan. As part of this the ICC's Chief Prosecutor at the time, Fatou Bensouda, and the Head of the Jurisdiction, Complementarity, and Cooperation Division, Phakiso Mochochoko, were both subjected to asset freezes and travel bans!
The greater irony @Ayaan is that Israel, once seen as a safe haven for Jews, is now one of the least safe places in the world for them.
Is this really just the fault of armed Palestinian groups or could Netanyahu’s policies towards Palestinians have something to do with it?
“It is not that the regime does not believe in liberty and equality; it is simply that it unashamedly prioritises security over both.”
Rwanda’s state-building model other African autocrats envy. Shades of Netanyahu’s Israel. My take in The Conversation:
tinyurl.com/dvnvkbt2
In this piece I ask whether “prosemitism” and “prosemitic bias” should be recognised as a phenomenon as real as “antisemitism” and “antisemitic bias”.
In this case in relation to supposedly impartial expert commentary from genocide scholars following the 7 October attack.
Here is the latest installment in our forum on Gaza and atrocity crimes (not Zone of Interest, as stated) by @omarmcdoom: "Expert Commentary, the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and the Question of Genocide: Prosemitic Bias within a Scholarly Community?"
A long-form i/v on the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. See from minute 61 my (imperfect) parallel between Rwanda’s and Israel’s current governments: the behaviour of genocide victim groups when they come to power and rule.
tinyurl.com/r8ysxbw6
The LSE’s MidEast Center invited me in for interview to offer my view on the choices and conduct of the Netanyahu government vis-a-vis Gaza.
'Whether you call it genocide, a crime against humanity or a war crime, the fact remains that large numbers of people are dying and that should be the focus of any policy response' – @omarmcdoom on the concept of #genocide in relation to #Gaza youtube.com/watch?v=WeLjVOqP…
Fellow scholars, an invitation: Would anyone with relevant expertise be willing to engage in a reasoned, X-based debate on the tragic & ongoing violence in Gaza & Israel? I ask as I was surprised at how much interest a post I made 2 days ago, as a genocide scholar, generated. 1/n
If you accept, I ask only that we keep the discussion ad rem, not ad hominem. If we could attack the arguments, & not the person, it would be a great example to the rest of the Twitter/X community on this subject. 5/5