Adam Kochanski
@adamkochanski.bsky.social
Assistant Professor @uofgpolisci.bsky.social • transitional justice, post-conflict peacebuilding, localization and international norms • PI: @normsinmotion.bsky.social #SSHRCfunded • adamkochanski.com
Ratko #Mladić (84), one of the most notorious genocidal criminals of the 1990s Balkan wars, died today in The Hague. He hid for 16 years and died serving a life sentence. May the moral arc of the universe bend the same way for all those like him. Read this epitaph from the ICTY Trial Judgment.
"The American side expressed its concerns about the functioning of this institution and called on Chad to review its accession to the Rome Statute," it said of the phone call on Thursday between US deputy secretary of state for African affairs and Chadian Foreign Minister. #ICC
AFP News Agency@en.afp.com · 2mo ago🇹🇩 Chad has become the latest country to announce plans to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), complaining its effectiveness was "limited and uneven" and its activities were focused on Africa. ➡️ u.afp.com/SrL2
Not a single word about how these tariffs violate both our WTO & USCMA obligations. Every time Trump does this, the NYT & other outlets simply write as if we live in an international vacuum, where the US has no obligations under signed, ratified international treaties. It's journalistic malpractice.
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 2mo agoPresident Trump signed an order imposing a 50% tariff on a wide range of goods from Canada, including hockey sticks, wine and cement.
Season 2 of Localization in World Politics is here! In Episode 2, @denisakost.bsky.social joins us to discuss RECOM's civil society initiative addressing the legacy of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and how dialogue can reshape #TransitionalJustice. /1 open.spotify.com/episode/0trw...
S02 - Ep.2: Reconciliation by Stealth, with Professor Kostovicova
Localization in World Politics · Episode
open.spotify.com
Season 2 of Localization in World Politics is here! In Episode 1, co-host @emilykmscott.bsky.social is joined by @rbkhoury.bsky.social and Daniel Neep to discuss the prospects for democracy in post-Assad #Syria. Listen in to learn about the challenges shaping Syria's future and civil society action.
S02 - Ep. 1: Syria After Assad, with Rana B. Khoury and Daniel Neep
Localization in World Politics · Episode
open.spotify.com
Policy brief by Rachel Julian and Berit Bliesemann de Guevara on local unarmed civilian protection strategies 👇
Norms In Motion Project@normsinmotion.bsky.social · 4mo ago"Local civilians are often the first and last line of protection". This article explores how community-led approaches can expand UN protection of civilians by recognizing local actors not just as victims, but as central agents in civilian protection. #CivilianProtection #ProtectionofCivilians
📢 CfP: Global Justice and the (Un)Making of Order We are editing a Special Issue exploring the mutual constitution of global justice and world order, and looking for cutting edge and critical interventions from IR, IL and beyond. Submit by June 11th, details here: tinyurl.com/yrcz5kua 1/
This would be awful. UN Women is a shining light within the UN system. Dynamic and innovative; a model for all other UN agencies.
Lauren Dobson-Hughes@ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 4mo agoCanada leads a group of nine countries formally objecting to the merger of UN Women and UNFPA, because of the risk of diluting mandates on gender equality and women’s health
I had the chance to visit the #ECCC today where I spoke with Court officials and donors about the Residual Functions phase. I also toured the premises and ECCC Resource Centre. #KhmerRouge #Genocide #Localization
How does ASEAN stay relevant amid a crisis in multilateralism? Sarah Teo shows how ASEAN blends formal institutional frameworks with informal diplomatic practices to maintain regional influence and adapt to new geopolitical challenges. #ASEAN #GlobalGovernance #SoutheastAsia #Multilateralism
Formal frameworks, informal practices: how ASEAN navigates the crisis in multilateralism
Third Word Quarterly
doi.org
Broken Courage is a documentary about memory, history, grief and similarity through difference; it speaks to the interconnectivity of stories and their power to heal trauma. Join us for a screening of Broken Courage, followed by a panel discussion. Today at 5:30pm! >>> bit.ly/3Pz5QL4
Do frontline crisis managers shape policy change in international organizations? @nkortendiek.bsky.social explores how frontline workers during the European migration crisis used improvisation to drive informal, bottom-up policy change in global governance. Read it now in @risjnl.bsky.social!
From the bottom up? Frontline crisis management and informal policy change in international organisations | Review of International Studies | Cambridge Core
From the bottom up? Frontline crisis management and informal policy change in international organisations - Volume 52 Issue 1
doi.org
It's been a bad, gaffe-prone week for Carney. Messaging on #Iran has been a mess - hasty, contradictory and incoherent. A parade of unforced errors. www.cbc.ca/news/world/l...
Carney says Canada will 'stand by our allies when it makes sense' in Middle East conflict | CBC
cbc.ca
The strongest voice in the West for the universal application of international law: Why Spain is right to stand up for international law in the US-Israeli war in Iran justiceinconflict.org/2026/03/04/t... #Iran
The strongest voice in the West for the universal application of international law: Why Spain is right to stand up for international law in the US-Israeli war in Iran
The following is a guest post by Thomas Obel Hansen, who is is the Beatriz Galindo Distinguished Professor with the Department of International Law, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid; he has a resea…
justiceinconflict.org
Civilians and civilian infrastructure have protected status under international humanitarian law during times of war. Attacks on schools, hospitals, residential buildings, and airports are serious violations of the laws of war and constitute war crimes. #IHL
Wholeheartedly agree with @wgreaves.bsky.social take on this.
Mark Kersten@markkersten.bsky.social · 7mo ago"Canada cannot endorse the unilateral & illegal use of military force, the killing of civilians or the kidnap & assassination of foreign heads of gov't while also insisting that our sovereignty, our rights and our independence must be respected." @wgreaves.bsky.social www.thestar.com/politics/fed...
"No president in the modern era has ordered more military strikes against as many different countries as Trump. He's attacked 7 nations ... [and] authorized more individual air strikes in 2025 than Biden did in 4 years." How "Donald the Dove" ever became a serious campaign narrative is beyond me. 🙄
Trump campaign peace promises loom large over Iran war
The "anti-war" candidate has bombed seven countries and launched a new regime-change war in Iran.
axios.com
It’s March. Three questions for Americans: Are you better off than you were a year ago? Is the world “safer” than it was before Trump came back into office? Has your life become more affordable?
During Trump 1.0, it was “death by a thousand cuts” to international law. In term two, they’re taking a sledgehammer to it.
Canada rightly condemns the Iran regime but then says it supports the US-led war in Iran, despite it violating international law, a topic on which PM Carney is silent. Is abandoning international law what Carney meant by principled realism in his Davos speech?
Mark Carney@mark-carney.bsky.social · 7mo agoMy statement on Iran-related hostilities in the Middle East:
There was a way to both condemn the Iranian regime and stand with the Iranian people while defending the principles of IL. By endorsing the unlawful use of armed force in a clear breach of the UN Charter, this statement does real damage and has consequences for IL. www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/stat...
Statement by Prime Minister Carney and Minister Anand on the situation in the Middle East
Canada’s position remains clear: the Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East, has one of the world’s worst human rights records, and must ...
pm.gc.ca
The strikes on Iran are blatantly illegal. I explained in June why the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities were unlawful under US and international law. Everything I wrote then is true today, but this is a far larger assault with far graver consequences. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/o...
Opinion | Trump’s Strikes on Iran Were Unlawful. Here’s Why That Matters.
nytimes.com
Good questions. The rationale has never been explained to the American people:
Steve Saideman@smsaideman.bsky.social · 7mo agoJust a basic question: what is the point of this attack? What do they hope to achieve? Because I am pretty sure that unless it is just distraction sauce, they are not going to achieve anything in terms of moving Iran on its policy stances.
U.S. and Israel have launched a major attack on Iran. The strikes come without authorization from congress or UNSC approval - a clear breach of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. The Iranian regime is atrocious, but the unlawful use of armed force must be condemned. bbc.com/news/article...
What we know about the joint US-Israel attack on Iran
Iran has retaliated with a missile barrage towards Israel, while explosions have been heard in Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
bbc.com
Strikes are manifestly illegal under the UN Charter 👇
Ralph Janik@ralphjanik.com · 7mo agoThe attacks on Iran are illegal They constitute aggression Pre-emptive self-defence would only be legal if an attack by Iran was imminent and that’s simply not the case Iran now has the right to self-defence Every country can support Iran in exercising its right to self-defence
Out now! When looking at Universal Jurisdiction cases, #Argentina is the go-to spot But why? And will this very open system continue in the current political climate? We asked Maia Czarny, @ezejim.bsky.social & Bénédict De Moerloose Listen 👇 www.asymmetricalhaircuts.com/episodes/jus...
Justice Update – Is Universal Jurisdiction Argentina-Style Working?
Argentina is the go-to spot for Universal Jurisdiction – why? If it’s interesting, do like, subscribe and leave us a review. Want to find out more? Check out all the background information on…
asymmetricalhaircuts.com
Fantastic to see this published!
Denisa Kostovicova@denisakost.bsky.social · 7mo ago👇 NEW ARTICLE: With Myriam Denov, we analyse how children born of war time rape in Rwanda disclose harms in social interaction to find agency in the self through novel analysis of discourse in transitional justice pioneered by JUSTINT @erc.europa.eu @lse-ei.bsky.social tinyurl.com/4z6e5pkx
Except they’re not pawns. This media framing of “these boys are being tricked and used as props” is so lame. They’re grown men with agency who know perfectly well what they’re doing. Matthew Tkachuk is on the President’s sports council, which is mandated to keep trans women out of women’s sports.
Mark Kersten@markkersten.bsky.social · 7mo ago“Team USA’s visibility in Washington functions as an endorsement, whether the players intend it to be or not…In sports, that’s called being a good teammate. In this arena, they will look like pawns.” The U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team won gold and then lost the room: www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...
So let me get this right: the IOC was fine with the U.S. men’s hockey team celebrating with the Director of the FBI, but kicked the Ukrainian skeleton competitor out of the games for being too political (for having the faces of fallen Ukrainian athletes on his helmet). Shameful.
