Dr. Christopher Rudolph, Visiting Fellow at the Center for International Studies (CIS) at the University of Southern California, will speak on “War Crimes Tribunals: Human Rights and Power Politics,” on Monday, February 25, at 4:15 p.m. in the Humanities Auditorium on the Scripps College campus. This talk, part of the European Union Center of California Spring 2002 Lecture Series, is free and open to the public.
Dr. Rudolph’s current research project at CIS examines the rise of an atrocities regime-a political and judicial means of adjudicating atrocities committed during internal and external conflicts-and the political development of the ad-hoc tribunal system as well as the more expansive drive to create an International Criminal Court. In recently published articles, Rudolph reveals that while the initial drive to establish an atrocities regime is routed in contemporary ideas and norms regarding human rights, the application and design of the emerging institution is driven largely by realpolitik. Examining case studies from the Balkans, Rwanda, Cambodia, and East Timor, Rudolph argues that the tribunal’s success in bridging the gap between realpolitik and idealpolitik depends largely on institutional design and flexibility, and offers key adjustments necessary for the tribunal to attain its more ambitious goals of deterring future atrocities and promoting peace and reconciliation in war-torn regions.
Rudolph received his doctorate in international relations from UCLA.