“I don't like to end my talk with a 700 million dollar loss, even if it shows the importance of Numerical Analysis.” IfsEndsShowsScienceLossMillionsImportanceMathematicsDollarsAnalysisMillion Dollars Author:Richard A. Falk
“Hamas retains the right to defend Gaza by the use of the weaponry at its disposal, and is thus not committed to nonviolence, but it does offer the possibility of greater peace and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians if the label of "terrorism" was abandoned and the search for accommodation was commenced in good faith.” IfsDoeUseGreaterPossibilityOffersCommittedTerrorismLabelsStabilityAbandonedNonviolencePalestinianGazaHamasGood FaithAccommodationsWeaponry Author:Richard A. Falk
“Trump's election is generally bad news.... In international policy, one can imagine that if Trump were foolish enough to go ahead with his pledge to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, it would be widely experienced throughout the Islamic world as a provocation.” IfsWorldEnoughWould BeMovingImaginePolicyTrumpNewsElectionInternationalFoolishIslamicImagine ThatPledgeBad NewsJerusalemProvocationEmbassy Author:Richard A. Falk
“If Trump were to go ahead with a renewed policy of hostility toward Iran, it would immediately raise tensions, and could quickly escalate in the direction of war, with grave dangers of producing another Syrian tragedy of massive displacement and prolonged strife that could cause turmoil and disruptions throughout the entire region, and give rise to a new cycle of extremism.” IfsGivingWarCausesDangerPolicyTrumpTragedyRaisesGravesTensionRegionsCyclesIranMassiveStrifeHostilityExtremismTurmoilDisruptionDisplacement Author:Richard A. Falk
“It should be appreciated that if the arrangement on Iran's nuclear program collapses after being so patiently negotiated, and successfully implemented since 2014 despite the intense opposition of Netanyahu's Israel and its American loyalists in Congress, it would be widely perceived around the world as a huge setback in the search for regional stability and the struggle to prevent any further spread of nuclear weapons.” IfsWorldShouldWould BeStruggleHugeWeaponsProgramCongressIsraelSpreadNuclearIntenseDespiteAround The WorldOppositionIranStabilityCollapseNuclear WeaponsArrangementsAppreciatedSetbackLoyalists Author:Richard A. Falk
“Trump will have to take up juggling if he goes ahead and scraps the agreement with Iran and at the same time, seeks to avoid alienating Russia, and quite possibly France and Germany. These European countries are already nervous about what the Trump presidency means with respect to the future of the post-World War II international order that has essentially kept the peace on the continent since 1945. This order is far from perfect, of course, and under pressure from other sources, especially due to the rise of chauvinism and European Trumpism.” IfsWorldMeanWarCountryOrderCoursesPerfectSourceTrumpPressureInternationalDuesRussiaNervousFrancePostsWar Of The WorldsGermanyAgreementIranWorld War IiWorld War IContinentsPresidencyScrapUnder PressureEuropean CountriesJugglingChauvinism Author:Richard A. Falk
“In light of Trump's irresponsible behavior, even Putin may decide that it was time to recalculate Russian interests. This could happen quite quickly if Trump goes ahead and wrecks one of the few potentially stabilizing developments in the Middle East during the last several years. Similarly, if Israel joins NATO, this might be more than Putin is willing to swallow.” IfsYearsMayLightMightHappensLastsInterestMiddleWillingDevelopmentTrumpBehaviorIsraelEastMiddle EastPutinIrresponsibleWrecksNato Author:Richard A. Falk
“My own sense is that if David Friedman chooses to live in Jerusalem, and quietly conduct diplomatic business from the now existing US consulate in the city, it will not be noticed very much. It will not be treated as a rupture with the past unless it is accompanied by other American encouragements of Israeli extremism undertaken with the clear backing of the White House.” IfsPastHouseMy OwnWhiteCitiesClearEncouragementTreatedWhite HouseIsraeliExtremismJerusalemDiplomaticRupture Author:Richard A. Falk
“Already there exists a growing international concern that Israel has become "an apartheid state" pursuing policies manifesting a "settler colonial" mentality. Such perceptions pose a challenge to postcolonial international society that will not be indefinitely ignored, especially if Palestinians achieve greater unity and tactical focus.” IfsStatesChallengesGreaterFocusGrowingAchievePolicyPerceptionConcernUnityInternationalIsraelManifestMentalityPalestinianIgnoredApartheidTacticalSettlers Author:Richard A. Falk
“It would seem to be the case that pressure on Iran to acquire nuclear weapons is almost totally driven by their need for a deterrent capability to avoid the fate of Iraq, Libya. The use of American military force in Syria thus sends exactly the opposite message as supposedly desired to the leadership in Tehran - and to others. North Korea has been dealt with diplomatically because it has the bomb and might use it if provoked.” IfsNeedsHas BeensUseSeemsMightForceCasesFateMilitaryMessagesWeaponsOppositesPressureIraqDrivenNuclearBombsAcquireIranCapabilityNuclear WeaponsSyriaKoreaNorth KoreaLibyaProvokedMilitary ForceDeterrentTehranAmerican MilitaryMight Use Author:Richard A. Falk
“We live in a state-centric world faced with global-scale problems that cannot be met by the actions of single states, no matter how powerful, if assessed from the perspective of military capabilities.” IfsWorldMatterStatesProblemActionPowerfulMilitaryPerspectiveMetsScalesCapability Author:Richard A. Falk
“Human rights and international criminal law both illustrate the contradictory potential of international law. On one level, the imposition of human rights norms is a restraint on interventionary diplomacy, especially if coupled with respect for the legal norm of self-determination. But on another level, the protection of human rights creates a pretext for intervention as given approval by the UN Security Council in the form of the R2P (responsibility to protect) norm, as used in the 2011 Libyan intervention. The same applies with international criminal accountability.” IfsHumansSelfFormLawUsedGivenLevelsResponsibilityRightsSecurityProtectDeterminationInternationalHuman RightsProtectionCriminalsAccountabilitySelf DeterminationApprovalRestraintNormDiplomacyCouncilInterventionContradictoryPretextInternational LawImpositionSecurity CouncilCriminal LawResponsibility To Protect Author:Richard A. Falk
“The fact that Universal Jurisdiction exists in relation to serious international crimes does convey two important aspects of the global reality: first, that such individuals would be held accountable if international law was applied without regard to geopolitics, and second, that there is enough ambiguity about the reach of UJ that it inhibits such individuals and conveys an impression of de facto criminality.” IfsFirstsDoeTwoImportantEnoughFactsRealityWould BeLawIndividualCrimeSeriousAspectUniversalRelationRegardInternationalImpressionAmbiguityGeopoliticsInternational LawCriminalityJurisdiction Author:Richard A. Falk
“The weaknesses and biases of the international mechanisms of accountability make it seem desirable to extend the domain of accountability by empowering domestic courts to act as agents of the world legal system. Even if there is no consistent application of Universal Jurisdiction, it still leads those who might be prosecuted to alter their travel plans to avoid even the complication of waiting for a complaint to be dismissed.” IfsWorldStillsSeemsMightWaitingPlansWeaknessUniversalCourtInternationalAgentsEmpoweringConsistentAccountabilityApplicationMechanismComplaintsDesirableDomainComplicationLegal SystemJurisdiction Author:Richard A. Falk
“I think if there is to be a crime of 'political genocide' it needs to be formulated with great care and precision to avoid unpopular views from being criminalised.” IfsThinkingNeedsCarePoliticalViewsCrimeGenocidePrecision Author:Richard A. Falk
“It would not be desirable to include 'terrorism' among international crimes subject to International Criminal Court jurisdiction if defined to apply only to anti-state acts of violence. The failure to include terrorism as a distinct crime was due to the inability to agree upon its proper definition.” IfsStatesViolenceSubjectsCrimeAgreeCourtInternationalDefinitionsTerrorismDuesCriminalsDefinedDesirableInabilityActs Of ViolenceJurisdictionAgree Upon Author:Richard A. Falk
