Author: Mohsen al Attar

In Representations of the Intellectual, Edward Said paints a portrait of the public intellectual. Part description and part aspiration (and maybe a little autobiography as well), he represents the intellectual as an outsider, a subversive whose role is to challenge the status quo by “speaking truth to power.” While this statement was probably never intended as more than a catchy...

[Mohsen al Attar is Associate Dean of Learning & Teaching at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University as well as a Contributing Editor to Opinio Juris. Nciko wa Nciko is an Amnesty International Climate Justice Advisor in East and Southern Africa and its lead advisor on human rights in Madagascar.] African peoples and states have long stood in solidarity with the liberation struggle of Palestinians....

A forthcoming symposium coordinated by Mohsen al Attar and Nciko wa Nciko African peoples and states have long stood in solidarity with the liberation struggle of Palestinians. Following each proclamation of independence across the continent, African leaders demanded the same for Palestine, a place that encapsulated anti-colonial resistance to Western (racial) imperialism. As Nelson Mandela powerfully declared: ‘our freedom is incomplete...

“I can’t stand [Netanyahu]. He’s a liar.” “You’re tired of him; what about me? I have to deal with him every day.”Sarkozy and Obama in conversation about the Israeli prime minister Justice hinges on the voices heard, whether in courts or across media platforms. It also depends on the credibility afforded to these same speakers. In legal systems, we presume truthfulness, believing...

Universities are in a topsy-turvy state. They face enormous and often contradictory pressures from a mix of protagonists including governments and parents, corporations and alumni. These pressures are dwarfed only by the worries of our students, anxious about the direction of the global political economy and the implications for their futures. Each group looks to the tertiary sector for...

In the field of international legal scholarship, Eurocentrism has traditionally overshadowed culture, ideology, and epistemology. Yet, as the world becomes more multipolar, these perspectives become indispensable for addressing global legal challenges in an effective manner. In our latest episode of FreshSqueezed!, Professor Cai Congyan from Fudan University Law School shared his thoughts China and the rise...

I don't think there's any part of international law that isn't integrated and fully embedded within capitalism.Margot Salomon Margot Salomon is a sought-after voice in the field of international law. She has a long history of challenging the conventional wisdom upon which international economic law is structured. I first encountered her work during my PhD and have been an avid reader...

In her book "Justice for Some: The Role of International Law in the Palestinian Struggle," Noura Erakat makes a provocative claim: that international law, often hailed as a neutral guardian of justice, has actually strengthened Israeli settler-colonialism. Erakat contends that international law's supposed neutrality is but a mirage, shaped and coloured by global power imbalances. In this episode,...

In a world where powerful states are becoming more brazen in their impunity, it is crucial to give voice to those who resist. Along with nearly 800 lawyers, scholars, and practitioners, representing a diverse range of perspectives from academia and practice, I have signed a statement warning of the possibility of genocide in Gaza, Palestine. This open letter underscores the...

If you're not careful, [international lawyers] will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.Malcolm X The Power of Mythmaking  Origin stories are always more fiction than fact, more myth than reality. At times, origin stories serve to redeem a dubious past, while at others they enable us to justify an unwelcoming...

Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller. Ibn Battuta From its vantage point atop the Kasbah in Tangier, Morocco, the Ibn Battuta museum overlooks the meeting point of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea—a vista coloured by myriad beginnings and a few endings as well. More of a memorial than a museum, the site...