Review
'This collection of essays provide an elegant reminder of why international society is a contested concept and Darfur is a contested conflict. A first-rate piece of work about the central dilemmas facing governments, international organizations, NGOs, and citizens.' - Professor Thomas G. Weiss, The CUNY Graduate Center, USA
'Despite the attention focused on the conflict in Darfur since it broke out in 20003, there have been few systematic studies that probe the role of major regional and international players in the conflict. Black and Williams’ The International Politics of Atrocities: The Case of Darfur, fills this lacunae. Against the backdrop of the turbulence in Sudanese politics, the book has cogently assembled a broad range of expertise to examine the roles of multilateral and bilateral actors. The chapters are neatly woven around the organizing theme of the possibilities and limits to good international citizenship. The book is bound to find wide readership and improve our understanding of the complexity of external action and inaction in Darfur.' - Gilbert M. Khadiagala, Jan Smuts Professor of International Relations, The University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
'For me, this important book teaches us, through the evidence provided by regional specialists on Darfur from a variety of countries, that there is less to the notions of 'international society', 'international community', 'good international citizenship', 'solidarism', and 'responsibility to protect' than their official and academic proponents claim. Tragically, such a verdict is always likely to be starkest when 'mass atrocities' occur in Africa.' - Professor Ken Booth FBA, Senior Research Associate, Aberystwyth University, UK
'It will …be an invaluable resource for scholars of Darfur, human rights, and humanitarian intervention.' - Kenneth A. Rodman, William R. Cotter Distinguished Professor of Government, Colby College, USA
'This is an excellent volume: well-conceived, designed, researched and written… represents the very best of case-specific scholarship on the difficult (issue) of collective responses to genocidal conflict…(N)icely integrates IR theory and the details of this particular case. The study blends well broader concerns such as the existence and capacity of an "international society" and the tenaciously problematic case of Darfur.…gives the international response to Darfur a clear yardstick and we gain real insights into the challenges of the context and the failures of a robust and effective international response.' - Tim Sisk, Professor and Director, Center for Sustainable Development and International Peace, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver
About the Author
David R. Black is Director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies and Associate Professor in Political Science at Dalhousie University, Canada. His current research interests focus on Canada and Sub-Saharan Africa, with emphases on human security, development assistance, multilateral diplomacy and extractive industry investment.
Paul D. Williams is Associate Professor of International Affairs and Associate Director, Security Policy Studies Program at George Washington University, USA. He also serves as Faculty Adviser for students with concentrations in Conflict & Conflict Resolution. He specializes in issues of conflict resolution, international peacekeeping and Africa's international relations.
