Author Archives: Mark Kersten

About Mark Kersten

Mark Kersten is an Assistant Professor in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada, and a Senior Consultant at the Wayamo Foundation in Berlin, Germany. Mark is the founder of the blog Justice in Conflict and author of the book, published by Oxford University Press, by the same name. He holds an MSc and PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a BA (Hons) from the University of Guelph. Mark has previously been a Research Associate at the Refugee Law Project in Uganda, and as researcher at Justice Africa and Lawyers for Justice in Libya in London. He has taught courses on genocide studies, the politics of international law, transitional justice, diplomacy, and conflict and peace studies at the London School of Economics, SOAS, and University of Toronto. Mark’s research has appeared in numerous academic fora as well as in media publications such as The Globe and Mail, Al Jazeera, BBC, Foreign Policy, the CBC, Toronto Star, and The Washington Post. He has a passion for gardening, reading, hockey (on ice), date nights, late nights, Lego, and creating time for loved ones.

The Ceasefire Resolution at the UN Security Council: Why the U.S. Position is both Wrong and Harmful

The following is a guest post by Thomas Obel Hansen. Thomas is the Maria Zambrano 2023-24 Distinguished Researcher with the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain) and a Senior Lecturer in Law with Ulster University Law School/ Transitional Justice Institute (UK). … Continue reading

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An alleged Nazi was invited to Parliament. But why are there Nazis and war criminals in Canada in the first place?

Last fall, Canadians were rightly appalled to learn that an alleged Nazi veteran had been invited to sit in the House of Commons and received a standing ovation from MPs across the political spectrum. The story was not left behind … Continue reading

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Why it is wrong to say Israel could never commit Genocide: Victims of Atrocities can and do become Perpetrators of Atrocities

Israel is facing charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This was not inevitable, and reasonable people can disagree over whether the contemporary legal threshold of genocide has been met. But the suggestion that a state created by … Continue reading

Posted in Dominic Ongwen ICC, Gaza, ICC Prosecutor, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, International Law, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC | Leave a comment

Rights without Remedies: The Failure of the International Court of Justice to Order a Ceasefire to stop alleged Genocide in Gaza

Kerstin Bree Carlson joins JiC for this guest-post on the ICJ’s interim decision in the South Africa case. Kerstin is associate professor at Roskilde University and The American University of Paris where she teaches topics in international law and sociology. … Continue reading

Posted in Guest Posts, International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israel, Palestine | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

International Law and the Stories We Tell: Reflections on International Law(yers), Narratives and the Situation in Israel-Palestine, Part 4

Barrie Sander joins JiC for this four-part series on what the situation in Israel and Palestine tell us about how we understand, construct, and tell stories about international law. Barrie is Assistant Professor of International Justice at Leiden University – Faculty of Governance … Continue reading

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International Law and the Stories We Tell: Reflections on International Law(yers), Narratives and the Situation in Israel-Palestine, Part 3

Barrie Sander joins JiC for this four-part series on what the situation in Israel and Palestine tell us about how we understand, construct, and tell stories about international law. Barrie is Assistant Professor of International Justice at Leiden University – Faculty of Governance … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, Guest Posts, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Law, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC | Leave a comment

International Law and the Stories We Tell: Reflections on International Law(yers), Narratives and the Situation in Israel-Palestine, Part 2

Barrie Sander joins JiC for this second article in a four-part series on what the situation in Israel and Palestine tell us about how we understand, construct, and tell stories about international law. Barrie is Assistant Professor of International Justice at Leiden University … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, ICC Prosecutor, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Law, Israel, Karim Khan, Palestine | Tagged | Leave a comment

International Law and the Stories We Tell: Reflections on International Law(yers), Narratives and the Situation in Israel-Palestine, Part One

Barrie Sander joins JiC for this four-part series on what the situation in Israel and Palestine tell us about how we understand, construct, and tell stories about international law. Barrie is Assistant Professor of International Justice at Leiden University – … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, International Law, Israel, Palestine | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Let the International Court of Justice Decide: It is Law, not History, that holds the Promise of Protecting Life in Gaza 

The following article was written by Amanda Ghahremani and Mark Kersten and originally appeared in the Toronto Star. Amanda is an international lawyer, research fellow at the Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley, and at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia … Continue reading

Posted in Canada, Gaza, Genocide, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Law, Israel, Palestine, South Africa | Tagged | 2 Comments

Genocide doesn’t “just happen” – Israel, Gaza and Genocide as a Process, not an Event

Israel has now responded to South Africa’s allegations of genocide in Gaza. In its submissions at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israel’s lawyers relied on a combination of legal and political arguments insisting that is not committing genocide. This is not … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, International Court of Justice, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, South Africa | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments