In association with the International Commission of Jurists

Author: Chris Borgen

20 Feb

Having already discussed the application of Security Council Resolution 1244, I will now turn to general principles of international law concerning secession and recognition. Thomas Franck, one of the five international law experts asked by the Canadian government to consider certain issues regarding a hypothesized secession of Quebec, wrote that:It cannot seriously be argued today that international law prohibits secession. It...

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19 Feb

As the initial euphoria or anger (depending on your point of view) over the declaration of independence by Kosovo begins to subside, commentators are increasingly turning to the legal question: does international law support or impede Kosovo’s bid for independence? Too many times a quick and simple answer is given (International law denies Kosovo’s independence! Kosovo has a...

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18 Feb

Kosovo's declaration of independence and the subsequent reaction by various countries is obviously a quickly changing situation. There are two new Wikipedia pages that attempt to collate the latest information. See the Wikipedia page on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence, and especially the Wikipedia page on International Reactions to Kosovo's Declaration. Hat Tip: Catholicgauze ...

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17 Feb

As expected, Kosovo’s parliament has declared independence today in a vote that was unanimous among those attending. Ten Serbian MP’s did not attend the vote. According to the BBC, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said"The independence of Kosovo marks the end of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia,"… He said Kosovo would be built in accordance with the...

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16 Feb

Kent's Imperative has a follow-up to their previous post on the film Twelve Angry Men and its uses in teaching intelligence (as oppsed to legal) analysis. The new post considers which films do-- and do not--provide good discussion examples for students of intelligence. I was dissappointed that the film versions of le Carre were disposed of as quickly...

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14 Feb

Kent’s Imperative, a blog devoted to intelligence studies, has a very interesting post on how lawyers are trained and whether or not such training helps or hurts in intelligence analysis. (This is a topic they have previously discussed here.) The newest post, though, has a film studies twist: namely, what can be learned from the classic film Twelve Angry Men. The...

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10 Feb

Following up on my previous post on the evolution of state borders in Eurasia, see also this animated map charting the imperial history of the Middle East and this PBS interactive map that includes historical political borders, natural resources, and religious populations (use the tabs at the bottom). But, regarding the Middle East, the big question is what will the map...

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09 Feb

The bloggers at Coming Anarchy have put together an informative series of posts about the shifting borders of states and empires. There’s a time-lapse animation of the expansion and contraction of Rome and Byzantium, a series of maps for each of Ethiopia, Poland, Armenia , Persia, and Russia. Also, there’s a series of comparative maps on state borders in...

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08 Feb

The situation in Kosovo may be coming to a head in the next few days. (See also this.) The New York Time is reporting today:Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said on Friday about 100 countries were ready to recognize the province's independence from Serbia, which political sources say could be declared on Feb 17. "We have confirmation by around 100 countries that...

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05 Feb

Like Roger, and the rest of the Opinio Juris bloggers, I want to thank Walter Russell Mead for joining us this week. I found God and Gold to be provocative and to contain wonderful insights, particularly concerning why the Anglo-Saxon powers have done remarkably well in conflicts over the last 300 years. But my first comment in this discussion will...

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27 Dec

Foreign Policy has compiled a series of short descriptions of important but often-overlooked stories from the last year. Here’s FP’s lead in:In 2007, the surge in Iraq, Ahmadinejad’s antics, and the chaos in Pakistan dominated the news. But behind the front pages, a number of important stories flew under the radar. From Osama’s fall from grace to the rise of...

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24 Dec

Since 1955 NORAD (and its predecessor CONAD) has tracked Santa's each Christmas Eve and has answered questions for boys and girls about his progress. NORAD's Santa tracking services have uses interactive maps updated every few minutes at www.noradsanta.org. As Santa stops in each location, you can click an icon to learn more about that part of the world....

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