On Dec. 28, South Africa filed a claim with the International Court of Justice alleging that Israel’s actions in Gaza since Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 amount to genocide against the Palestinian population. Both Israel and the U.S. have called the case a distraction. They’re right, but not for the reasons they claim.
For those concerned with the bottom-line humanitarian outcomes in Gaza, is a cease-fire ultimately the best way forward? The reality is that cease-fires often fail and for the most part have limited and at times even adverse impacts. There are, however, certain circumstances when cease-fires can make a difference.
With the international system stretched to the breaking point, the world’s attention remains focused on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the questions of moral legitimacy they raise. However, conflicts in Sudan and Ethiopia are also setting precedents that will further erode the moral and legal constraints on state and nonstate actors.
After a year of important gatherings for the Chinese Communist Party, starting with the 20th Party Congress in October 2022 that named Xi Jinping to an unprecedented third term as general secretary, 2023 ended not with a bang, but with a whimper: The “third plenum,” often used to announce important reforms, didn’t take place.
All too often, calls for nonviolent action in Palestine ignore how even a fully rejuvenated Palestinian nonviolent movement is unlikely to succeed on its own. Instead, the best hope for progress is the emergence of parallel nonviolent mobilization among Israelis, providing a necessary ally for change that would embody sustainable peace.
As 2024 begins, two of the world’s most important shipping routes—the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal—both face threats that require a global response. The two challenges aren’t alike. But given their effects on global trade, it’s worth asking, What if we treated them with a similar sense of urgency, strategy, attention and resources?
At the height of enthusiasm for globalization, many policymakers convinced themselves that the benefits of a more connected world would encourage potential spoilers to accept a stable international order. The same complacency was visible in the recent shock over attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement on merchant shipping in the Red Sea.
The events of the past three months serve as a painful reminder that the truths of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict do not go away simply because they are ignored. Acknowledgment of the conflict’s realities is necessary to avoid further repetition of violence and to take steps toward a resolution that minimizes future killing.