Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals

by Gary Jonathan Bass

International justice has become a crucial part of the ongoing political debates about the future of shattered societies like Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, Cambodia, and Chile. Why do our governments sometimes display such striking idealism in the face of war crimes and atrocities abroad, and at other times cynically abandon the pursuit of international justice altogether? Why today does justice seem so slow to come for war crimes victims in the Balkans? In this book, Gary Bass offers an unprecedented look at the politics behind international war crimes tribunals, combining analysis with investigative reporting and a broad historical perspective. The Nuremberg trials powerfully demonstrated how effective war crimes tribunals can be. But there have been many other important tribunals that have not been as successful, and which have been largely left out of today's debates about international justice. This timely book brings them in, using primary documents to examine the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, the Armenian genocide, World War II, and the recent wars in the former Yugoslavia.


Bass explains that bringing war criminals to justice can be a military ordeal, a source of endless legal frustration, as well as a diplomatic nightmare. The book takes readers behind the scenes to see vividly how leaders like David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton have wrestled with these agonizing moral dilemmas. The book asks how law and international politics interact, and how power can be made to serve the cause of justice.


Bass brings new archival research to bear on such events as the prosecution of the Armenian genocide, presenting surprising episodes that add to the historical record. His sections on the former Yugoslavia tell--with important new discoveries--the secret story of the politicking behind the prosecution of war crimes in Bosnia, drawing on interviews with senior White House officials, key diplomats, and chief prosecutors at the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Bass concludes that despite the obstacles, legalistic justice for war criminals is nonetheless worth pursuing. His arguments will interest anyone concerned about human rights and the pursuit of idealism in international politics.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Law, International Relations

440 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This covers the different manners in which post-war "war criminals" were handled historically [that is developments up to July 2001] from Napoleon to Milošević. Of course it's full of fawning at the liberality, legalism and broad minded idealism of certain elite policy makers in the post-Nuremberg world order of righteous warfare in defence of human rights. If it practically seems like international bodies exist today just to prevent some bongobongostanian revolutionary politician from unifying to much territory and consolidating to much power upsetting the status quo that the Western elite are comfortable with this won't change your mind probably. A must read presumably on the bedsides of Nobel Peace Prize recipients Barack Obama and Henry Kissinger.

[Daniel Macgregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read, that went beyond the normal coverage of genocide or war crimes in themselves. This text provides a good over view of political theory in regards to how liberal states respond to war tribunals and for the most part the arguments raised by the author stay consistent as they highlight them with examples from the post-Napoleonic war, post-WWI, post-WII, and the foundation of the Yugoslav war tribunal. Provides a strong historical context for the tribunals in question while also providing strong analysis into the topic of war tribunals. Slightly dated, and the fact it was dated while the Yugoslav tribunals were still in process takes a little from the final chapter.

[Chloe Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

comparative account of international tribunals, in which nuremberg is only one example. good scholarship i thought, especially in highlighting how the Allied sat in judgment at Nuremberg for the morally arbitrary fact of having won a war, and that many decisions were made for selfish considerations. nothing revolutionary but a good book to cite for my paper. perhaps it would be more interesting to consult this on a paper on international law.

[hannah]

look im not going to pretend i read the whole thing but i read enough of this for my war class that i think i should be able to count it. as a treat

[bela]

Constantinople🥸

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just cracking this open . . . so far quite good.

[hoffnarr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of essays. Used for our course on political trials and political justice.

[Michael E Motto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book if you're interested in the legalism and history of international criminal courts.