Implicated in Violence: Socio-legal Approaches to International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law

Abstract

This essay reviews five recent books that engage in socio-legal research in international humanitarian law and international criminal law (by Kamari M. Clarke, Rebecca Sutton, Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini, Craig Jones, and Noura Erakat.) It makes a case for socio-legal approaches to international law, violence, and accountability. The five books show the promise of contextual approaches for grappling with the coloniality of IHL and ICL, understanding hierarchies among civilians, and imagining transformative forms of accountability for violence.

Keywords: International Humanitarian Law, International Criminal Law, Methods, Socio-legal research