Articles for author: Itamar Mann

Beyond the Blocs

On Monday, 25 March, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate release of hostages, as well as emphasizing the need to increase the provision and distribution of humanitarian aid. The Resolution was adopted 14-0, with the United States the only member to abstain. As the Security Council website announces, this Resolution ended a “months-long deadlock”. The recent Resolution is not perceived by Israeli actors as binding. And yet, I argue that the fact that the US and Russia are now essentially voting together on the need to end this war could lead to significant further ramifications that may shape the region and beyond.

27. März 2024

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Provisional Measures as Tools of American Empire

One could feel the weight of history on her shoulders, as Judge Joan Donoghue, President of the International Court of Justice, read the provisional measures order in South Africa v Israel. Her hand reached several times for the glass of water. Carefully, and with an occasional sip of water, she walked her viewers on the ICJ’s streaming service from one provisional measure to the next. By first zeroing in on the role of the American judge, this post describes how the provisional measures decided upon, ultimately correspond to a larger project of global American governance. As I will argue the US Executive Branch is likely to take a lead role in interpreting the provisional measures, further cementing their place as tools of empire.

29. Januar 2024

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Counter-Genocidal Governance

The International Court of Justice’s decision regarding South Africa’s request for provisional measures in its genocide case against Israel is expected tomorrow. Whatever the Court decides, it is worthwhile noting that the impact of the process is already evident. And any provisional measures that may be given, will shape a years-long and likely tense dialog between Israel and the Court, as well as third countries. Everything that will happen for the duration of the proceedings, over the next two or three years at least, will continue to build evidence until, finally, the owl of Minerva will spread its wings. My purpose in this post is to provide some provisional reflections on how that may work. In doing so, I will expand a bit on a notion I’ve tried to develop in a previous post, that of counter-genocidal governance.

25. Januar 2024

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Managed Violence

In its application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), South Africa seeks a ceasefire as a provisional measure. However, after the oral arguments, it seems rather unlikely that the entire scope of the provisional measures will be granted. This post seeks to offer some preliminary reflections on what a “softer” provisional measure would mean for the law and politics of the “genocide” category. Initially, such measures would slightly complicate predictions on whether and how Israel will comply, and how it will manage ramifications for its reputation. More importantly, I suggest that such provisional measures would almost inevitably position the Court, for the duration of the proceedings, in a position of quasi-bureaucratic governance. I call this counter-genocidal governance. As shown in other national security contexts, such judicial governance is a double-edged sword. While moderating certain aspects of state violence, it may legitimate others.

15. Januar 2024

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The Missing Party

South Africa’s argument today was historic and extremely important. If you missed it, I recommend that you go back and look for the recording. For the Israeli viewer, at least, the South African argument was a real service because at last, we could connect to a very dominant narrative in world politics, which is completely concealed by Israeli media. However, the hearing also exposed a problem in South Africa's argument, which was also apparent in the written application. The South African case brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is highly selective. Prof. John Dugard, in an impressive performance, described how observers watched the events of October 7th “with horror”. But people reading the documents and listening to the oral arguments, without otherwise following the events, might think that before and after October 7, Palestinian forces did not shoot a single bullet.

11. Januar 2024

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The Body of the Judge and the Suffering of the Collective

The widespread prediction among experts right now is that Israel’s chances of prevailing at the ICJ in its response to South Africa’s genocide application are slim. Let’s assume, for a moment, that the prediction is accurate. As has been reported, Israeli authorities, too, have acknowledged that there’s a real risk of an ICJ decision against Israel. What does this mean for Israel’s legal strategy? When a party is preparing to lose in a proceeding, one relevant question is what the minority opinion will look like. Aharon Barak’s appointment as an ad-hoc judge for the ICJ proceedings may reveal some of the outlines Israel is preparing for this minority opinion: even if we lose, we may still try to convince the world that the issue at hand is none other than the memory of the Holocaust. But this is a morally and politically risky choice to make.

8. Januar 2024

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Visibility and Crime at Sea

On 30th June 2021, search-and-rescue activists from Sea-Watch witnessed a brutal attack by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard against a migrant vessel carrying 64 during an attempted pushback. Now, prosecutors in Sicily have launched an investigation against the Libyan Coast Guard for “attempted shipwreck.” This the first time, a European court opens an investigation against the Libyan Coast Guard, and the fact that an Italian court should do so bears legal and political importance.

9. Juli 2021

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