Pockets of Barbarism: Internal and External Challenges to the International Humanitarian Order
Vortrag von Prof. Jennifer M. Welsh (McGill University, Montreal) innerhalb der Ringvorlesung des Exzellenzclusters „Die Herausbildung normativer Ordnungen“: „The End of Pacification? The Transformation of Political Violence in the 21st Century“ am 13.02.2019
This lecture challenges the meta-narrative of gradual pacification, by examining the manifestations, drivers, and consequences of the contemporary return of ‘barbarism‘ in armed conflict. While Stephen Pinker and others point to the vast majority of countries in the world that now enjoy relative peace, the ‘remaining 20 percent‘ is experiencing both interstate and civil conflict in which indiscriminate attacks on civilians, the annihilation of religious and ethnic minorities, and the starvation of populations are a regular part of the strategic repertoire of belligerents.
The lecture will assess both the reasons for the increasing lethality of armed conflicts for civilians, particularly in urban settings (with a particular focus on Syria and Yemen), as well as the impact on the regime of international humanitarian law that aims to regulate conflict and minimise suffering. It will also argue that contemporary challenges to that regulation are not only external to the regime, but also internal to its principles and rules. IHL has always had within it an inherent tension between humanitarian considerations and the imperative of military necessity, which has in some cases enabled the current return of barbarism. The lecture will also contest the tendency to cast nonstate armed groups as the key perpetrators of barbarism, and demonstrate how nation-states themselves are also contributing to an erosion of the international humanitarian order.
Veranstalter:
Exzellenzcluster „Die Herausbildung normativer Ordnungen“
News from the research center
Article "Ideology and Suffering: What Is Realistic about Critical Theory?" by Amadeus Ulrich published in EJPT
The article "Ideology and Suffering: What Is Realistic about Critical Theory?" by Amadeus Ulrich has just been published open access in the European Journal of Political Theory (EJPT). Ulrich brings the perspective of radical realism into a productive dialog with Adorno's critical theory.
more information ›Prof. Dr. Franziska Fay awarded the Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose University Prize 2025
Prof. Dr. Franziska Fay (Junior Professor of Ethnology with a focus on Political Anthropology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and former postdoctoral researcher at the Research Center Normative Orders at Goethe University) receives the Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose University Award 2025 in the category Humanities and Social Sciences.
more information ›Ideology and Suffering: What Is Realistic about Critical Theory?
Ulrich, Amadeus (2025): Ideology and suffering: What is realistic about critical theory? European Journal of Political Theory, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14748851251351782
more information ›New series “Vertrauensfragen” in the Frankfurter Rundschau initiated by Hendrik Simon
Democracy thrives on debate - if it serves the joint search for solutions. There is often a problem with this cooperation. The new FR series “Vertrauensfragen”, initiated by Hendrik Simon (Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC) Frankfurt location at Goethe University's Research Centre Normative Orders ), examines why this is the case and how we can do better.
more information ›Untrustworthy Authorities and Complicit Bankers: Unraveling Monetary Distrust in Argentina
Moreno, Guadalupe (2025): “Untrustworthy Authorities and Complicit Bankers: Unraveling Monetary Distrust in Argentina”. Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies Discussion Paper 25/3.
more information ›Does deliberative democracy have a future in the age of oligarchs, autocrats and patriarchs?
On June 3, Prof. Simone Chambers will give a lecture on the value of democracies and the future of the form of government.
more information ›Klimaethik. Ein Reader
Sparenborg, Lukas; Moellendorf, Darrel (Hrsg.) (2025) : Klimaethik. Ein Reader. Suhrkamp.
more information ›What can a baroque tapestry tell us about colonial iconography?
Lecture by Cécile Fromone on May 21. The professor at the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University, director of the Cooper Gallery at the Hutchins Center and author will talk about the long-forgotten African origins of iconography and its colonial dimension.
more information ›