Latest blog articles

  • Genocide in Gaza?

    A brief explainer about the ICJ case brought by South Africa against Israel

    On 29 December, almost three months after the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip, which had by then resulted in the deaths of more than 21,000 people and more than...

    international law
  • McDonaldizing the fight against organised crime?

    Why it is so challenging for Dutch authorities to effectively implement the government policy against serious drug related organized crime? Recently, my colleagues and I from Maastricht University and Erasmus University Rotterdam published an article in the Dutch Tijdschrift over Cultuur en...

    crime
  • How do the Dutch deal with their colonial past?

    The debate on the implications of Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia recently intensified after a report concluded that the Dutch forces had used extreme violence. Reactions to the report reveal that the issue remains controversial and challenging to discuss. The findings in the report do however...

    law_blog_dutch_deal_with_their_colonial_past
  • The importance of academic collaboration with China

    Recently there has been a strong wave of anti-China sentiments expressed in the media and within certain political circles, both in the United States and within the European Union. The Netherlands has been no exception to this.

    law_blog_niels_philipsen_china
  • Hugo Grotius

    To any international lawyer, Hugo de Groot (10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), usually referred to by his Latin name as Hugo Grotius, does not need any introduction. He is generally seen as the “father of public international law”, often together with Francisco De Vitoria (1483-1546) and Alberico...

  • How do you counter the denial of the Genocide against the Tutsi?

    25 years after the Genocide Against the Tutsi, the denial of this genocide still poses a serious challenge to prevention and reconciliation. How to address this problem was one of the central questions discussed during a recent commemorative conference in the Peace Palace.

    Nature-reserve blog genocide Tutsi
  • Brexit and the Economics of Federalism

    With Brexit, Yellow Jackets and EU-scepticism dominating the news and everyday discussions, I would like to direct our blog readers’ attention to some of the lessons that law and economics can offer to the (polarizing) debate on the future of the EU.

    Brexit and the Economics of Federalism