Recent Books on International Law and Conflict

Here is a selection of noteworthy recent books on subjects related to crimes of war:

"A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide
by Samantha Power (Basic Books)

A much-talked about history of the United States’ reluctance to act in the face of gross abuses of human rights. The book is beautifully written and carefully researched, and gives a telling account of the evasions and justifications that officials have used to excuse American inaction. The author combines a feeling for the realities of politics with an awareness of the results that can be achieved through individual action. The result is a compelling narrative that is free of both cynicism and naivety.

The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace and the Course of History
by Philip Bobbitt (Knopf)

The sub-title says it all: this is a hugely ambitious (and massive) treatise on the changing role of the state in international politics. Philip Bobbitt is a constitutional scholar who has served in government in both legal and strategic capacities. His account of today’s world stands out for its combination of military and legal perspectives: he relates the constitutional evolution of states to the nature of international order, and calls for new forms of international organization to combat the potential chaos of the coming era.

Crimes of War: Guilt and Denial in the Twentieth Century
edited by Omer Bartov, Atina Grossman, and Mary Nolan (The New Press)

A collection of historical essays (unconnected to this website) dealing with the remembering and forgetting of atrocity. Written by a distinguished collection of scholars (including Saul Friedlander, John Dower, and Christopher Browning), the book focuses (not surprisingly) on the Second World War. It offers a wide range of detail about the specific ways in which societies bury, or confront, the legacy of war crimes.

Please send suggestions for other books to be featured on this site to our web editor, Anthony Dworkin.

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