Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper analyzes the development of neo-liberal governmentality in security. It focuses on the specific processes, mechanisms and practices through which neo-liberal governmentality is becoming increasingly central in the field of security. The argument begins from the understanding that both in the overall field of security and in our respective sub-fields (EU migration control and military service provision) a neo-liberal governmentality is increasingly present and entrenched. The provision of security is being restructured as a set of (quasi-)markets in security services with a strong emphasis on entrepreneurial values of managerialism and economic reasoning. The neo-liberal governmentality in turn feed into and reshape overall security politics as neo-liberal principles are increasingly mobilized to buttress private agents� institutional authority as security experts. Exploring the ways in which neo-liberal governmentality feeds into and reshapes overall security governance, we consider the evolving involvement of (1) private security contractors in Darfur and (2) the involvement of private agents in EU immigration control. We argue that in both our cases the neo-liberal governmentality has had strong depoliticizing effects. In making this argument we rely on the Foucauldian notion of governmentality which we give substance using a Bourdieusian framework of analysis.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: More than a decade ago, a cascade of complex humanitarian crises and intractable civil conflicts forced the international community to address more directly than ever before its role in such conflicts. Out of these discussions arose one school of thought that argued in favor of an �emerging� norm of humanitarian intervention. The set of principles underlying humanitarian intervention have indeed evolved into what now is referred to as �the responsibility to protect.� And yet the humanitarian protection of civilians caught in armed conflict is far from a generally accepted practice for states. This paper posits a central question: What impact �if any- has the concept or emerging norm of �the responsibility to protect� had on the practice of international humanitarian intervention? Drawing on experiences in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur (Sudan), the paper examines the trajectory of humanitarian protection in sub-Saharan Africa in particular but around the world more generally. I argue that the �imperfect� or incomplete nature of the norm of humanitarian intervention has led to significant unintended (largely negative) consequences which actually undermine the principles of humanitarian protection.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: While the International Criminal Court (ICC) became operational only in July 2002 with the entry into force of its statute, it constitutes the culmination of over a half-century of the development of international justice. Its creation, and now operation, have not been without controversy. The court faced a strong challenge from the outset by the United States, which first signed its statute and then “unsigned” it. Its early cases have also drawn some criticism on a number of grounds. There have been concerns that the ICC has become an “International Criminal Court” for Africa. Alternatively, there have been concerns that prosecutions will hamper peace processes, or will be unnecessarily limited, in cases where investigations are underway or indictments have been issued, in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the Darfur region of Sudan. There may also be cause for concern that the court, while structurally designed to be attentive to the gender dimension of many crimes, may not be gender-sensitive in practice. This paper will briefly discuss the background of the ICC and its current membership, before turning to the US objections and their ramifications. It will then consider the court’s current caseload. It will then turn to three criticisms of the court: case selection, practice as hampering peacebuilding, and practice as insufficiently gender-sensitive, as well as develop some responses to these criticisms

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: I explain why rebels in Darfur resorted to violence, why the Sudanese government responded by using ethnic cleansing and mass killing, and why the rebels and the government have chosen to escalate violence rather than negotiate a durable settlement.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: International attention is heavily focused on the events in Darfur, Sudan. However, the explanations of the conflict and its results provided by the mass media tend to be very dichotomous and thus simplistic. Sudan's government and the pro-government Arab militias are generally accused of war crimes against the region's black African population. I argue that there was one period of time in history that contributed very significantly to the current situation, that the aggravation of conflicts and assaults between the armed militias, later known as the janjaweeds, both based on ethnic affiliations, ordered by the central government and the civil population started after 1983, after the beginning of the process of Arabization and Islamization introducing the Shari�a in the entire Sudan with overthrowing the Native Administration system in Darfur.
This paper provides suggestions for possibilities decipher the puzzle that seems to be hidden behind the humanitarian crisis in Darfur looking at the history of this region locating it in the wider context of Sudan, its neighbors and colonial past. I approach this puzzle from three standpoints, historical institutionalism, culturalist approach, and rational choice. Conclusions point out at several structural factors that led to the current humanitarian crisis which lead to a mixture of exclusion, marginalization that started in 1983 with Arabization and Islamization of Darfur without providing support in transitioning into the structural change without making sure that one group would not become �whitened� and without balancing the game for the actors, government of the Sudan, SLM and JEM, the janjaweeds, and the regular, common folk.