📢 Hun Joon Kim (Korea University) and I are co-editing a special of JCEAS on "Norm Contestation and the Politics of #TransitionalJustice in East and Southeast Asia." Please send us your 250-word abstract by Oct 15. Link to full CfP below 👇 www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7v61o... #IRtheory #IRnorms

"Rather than leaving immunity up to the interpretation of individual governments, a future convention should implement a tool to fight impunity in all forms." The Case for an Immunity Exception in the Crimes Against Humanity Convention: justiceinconflict.org/2025/09/24/l... #UNGA80

A little more surprised than I should be by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announcement to withdraw from #ICC, labelling it an "instrument of neo-colonialist repression" and saying they will pursue "indigenous mechanisms for the consolidation of peace and justice." www.bbc.com/news/article...

Hun Joon Kim (Korea University) and I are co-editing a special of Journal of Contemporary East Asian Studies on "#NormContestation and the Politics of #TransitionalJustice in East and Southeast Asia." Please send us your 250-word abstract by Oct 15. CfP below 👇https://www.adamkochanski.com/jceas-cfp

UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel finds that Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip. Excellent summary of the key findings of the report below:

“And if people want to have fun on the high seas or the low seas.” Lordy, he thinks “high seas” is the water level and doesn’t know it refers to international waters. 🤦‍♂️

“No lawful measure can be eschewed in the effort to induce Israel to allow Gaza to be flooded with humanitarian assistance, to restore essential services, and to provide the conditions for the sustained, long-term recovery needs of Palestinians in Gaza.” www.justsecurity.org/117962/mass-...

The man-made starvation in #Gaza is horrific, inhumane and a blatant violation of the ICJ’s provisional measures ruling and the fundamental principles of #IHL. All restrictions on humanitarian aid must be lifted without delay. Access to food and water are protected under IHL, without exception.

Back in Toronto after spending last five weeks in Frankfurt at @goetheuni.bsky.social as a @trace-center.de Visiting Fellow. Huge thanks to Lisbeth Zimmermann and others in the Chair on International Institutions and Peace Processes for hosting me and stimulating discussions about IR norms research.

Very pleased to hear announcement of an "immediate and unconditional" ceasefire in Thailand-Cambodia fighting and a pledge to return to normalcy. Also significant to see ASEAN chair Malaysia mediating and brokering the ceasefire, voicing "shared commitment to peace, dialogue and regional stability."

The clashes between #Thailand and #Cambodia are very concerning. At least 33 killed, thousands displaced and reports of a Thai hospital being shelled and use of cluster munitions by Thai military. Need for immediate de-escalation to offset possibility of full-on war.

Trump caught lying again. He’s threatened Thailand and Cambodia with 36% tariffs and has diminished the U.S.’s credibility here. When a ceasefire does inevitably happen, I expect it will be because of an #ASEAN third party involvement - most likely Malaysia.

Tensions have boiled over in a months-long standoff between #Thailand and #Cambodia in a disputed area along their border. The standoff has escalated with military clashes, resulting in 9 civilian deaths in Thailand's Surin province - the deadliest clash between the two #ASEAN countries since 2011.

The ICJ has issued a landmark advisory opinion today stating that a "clean, healthy and sustainable environment" is a human right and states have a legal obligation under international law to tackle climate change: www.cbc.ca/news/science...

Beyond thrilled to have my new article on ‘radical contestion’ published in @risjnl.bsky.social! Open access: doi.org/10.1017/S026... Please feel free to share further 😊 @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org

I am delighted to share that my research on norm localization and circulation in Southeast Asia was awarded a five-year SSHRC Insight Grant.

📢 Final TraCe Lecture for this semester Don't miss the lecture of our current visiting fellow @adamkochanski.bsky.social (University of Guelph) titled “Practicing Norm Localization in the International Human Rights Regime” on July 9, 12h @goetheuni.bsky.social. www.trace-center.de/veranstaltun...

I’m very grateful for the warm welcome I’ve received from Lisbeth Zimmermann and the wonderful IR community @goetheuni.bsky.social, as well as the wider @trace-center.de network. I’m looking forward to sharing my research and our next month of exchanges as TraCe Visiting Fellow.

This is a really important piece by @adamsandor.bsky.social and Laura Berlingozzi on the deeply ambiguous role of civil society under military rule in Burkina Faso and Niger.

50 years ago today, the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975, proclaiming Day One. Initially welcomed by war-weary civilians, they promptly forcibly evacuated cities, setting off one of the gravest tragedies of the 20th century, leading to 2 million deaths. #CambodianGenocide #NeverForget

Very unfortunate that it has come to this, but validating. Like many other Cdn colleagues, I had already decided to pass on @isanet.bsky.social #ISA2026, and will be sticking to ISA-Canada and EISA regional conferences while current policies and admin is in place. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

This special forum by @adamkochanski.bsky.social @emilykmscott.bsky.social and @jennifermwelsh.bsky.social pushes forward debate on localization in world politics. Have a look!

Professor Adam Kochanski (@adamkochanski.bsky.social) co-edited a special issue of Global Studies Quarterly on Localization in World Politics. Kochanski co-edited the collection of articles and co-authored the introductory essay with Professors @emilykmscott.bsky.social & Jennifer Welsh #SSHRCfunded

Tariffs disproportionately single out #ASEAN countries, the world’s 5th largest economy and 3rd largest labour force. There was already a split developing within ASEAN along pro-US and pro-China lines. Can’t help but think these tariffs will push US allies like Thailand and Indonesia towards China.

In this new article 📖 ✍️, @adamkochanski.bsky.social, Jennifer Welsh, and I talk ALL about localization, and kick off the Localization in World Politics Special Forum! Dive in open access @gsqjournal.bsky.social #OxfordUniversityPress @isanet.bsky.social 1/ doi.org/10.1093/isag...

Director Jennifer Welsh co-edited a special issue of Global Studies Quarterly on Localization in World Politics. Welsh co-edited the collection of articles and co-authored the introductory essay. Authors consider key dilemmas & challenges facing both the academic study and practice of localization.

As a 20-year old, I backpacked through Eastern Europe in 2004, and recall running into many Americans, including a group in Prague, who had sewn Cdn flags onto their backpacks bc they were embarrassed by the Bush administration and its invasion of Iraq the previous year. This is exponentially worse.

Unfortunately, this possibility did cross my mind when I was travelling to Chicago for ISA this year… one of many reasons I will be pivoting to CPSA and EISA in the coming years.

Disappointed Poland & Baltic states’ have announced exit from the #MineBanTreaty. This puts another dent in a strong norm, prohibiting a weapon whose humanitarian costs outweigh its military advantages. The move, while unjustified, signals high anxiety about U.S. upholding its Article V commitments.

Re-upping this article from 2020: "Chuck Schumer knows how to hold a press conference and he knows how to raise money from Wall Street ... But when it comes to the take-no-prisoners, polarized politics of the twenty-first century, he’s completely out of his depth." jacobin.com/2020/11/chuc...

The arrest warrant for Duterte for the crime against humanity of murder 👇 It was issued under seal and enforced by police in Manila.

An erratic and incoherent trade policy, but relieved by the change of tone and approach from Ottawa www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

One of the most telling moments of the presser: Zelenskyy correcting Trump’s talking point that “Russia never would’ve invaded under his watch,” noting Ukraine was invaded in 2014 and people have been dying during four US admins, incl Trump’s entire first term. The wheels fully came off after that.

I watched the shameful full presser at the Oval Office. A few reactions: 1/ I'm convinced Trump has no idea what rare earth minerals actually are. Kept referring to them as "raw earth." This idea, which has implications for Canada and Greenland, likely comes from his tech bro backers.

Well-deserved! A fantastic book and must read for scholars of transitional justice and reconciliation in deeply divided societies.

Gaza province in Mozambique - a country that has the 8th highest HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate in the world (12.5%), which is particularly high in the mining areas located on the MZ-SA border in Gaza. Utter ignorance and incompetence. People will die, and HIV/AIDS will spread.

If they actually try to depopulate Gaza, America will come under the jurisdiction of the #ICC.

It is clear to me that Trump has spent the last four years not only seeing nothing wrong with Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine, but admiring it and even fantasizing about his own imperial conquests. This is very concerning.

Trump doesn’t just want to undo post-Cold War globalization, post-Nixon safeguards against abuses of power, Johnson’s Great Society, and Roosevelt’s New Deal and postwar system of institutions and alliances. Someone told him about late-19th-century US imperialism and tariffs – and he has latched on.

A few thoughts about this development after discussing it in my Global Law and Courts seminar yesterday 🧵: 1/ This is a very important signal of Karim Khan’s commitment to gender justice, which was a major priority under Bensouda, but has been absent from other indictments so far during his tenure;

The Special Issue on 'Interactions for Justice' is out now! Guest Editors @denisakost.bsky.social& @sanjavico.bsky.social introduce the concept of interaction as an analytical category and empirical strategy for transitional justice research. Read & share widely. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The Assad regime has fallen. Stunning developments in Syria this week. Now, hopefully, the Syrian people can reunite with family members, safely return to their homes, and begin to rebuild their country and lives, while members of the Assad regime are brought to justice for their heinous crimes.

Yesterday, the #InternationalCriminalCourt boldly picked the rule of law over politics. While it is unclear whether the cases will ever go to trial, the announcement marks a major turning point in the Court's history away from sovereign inequality toward universality. www.icc-cpi.int/news/stateme...

The ICBL condemns #US decision to transfer antipersonnel #landmines to #Ukraine; this is a deeply upsetting decision because history tells us civilians will bear the human cost of this action, as the landmines will have no way of knowing who they were laid icblcmc.org/our-impact/i...