Font Size: a A A

The politics of constructing the International Criminal Court

Posted on:2006-09-25Degree:Ph.DType:Dissertation
University:University of California, IrvineCandidate:Struett, Michael JohnFull Text:PDF
GTID:1456390008952625Subject:Political science
Abstract/Summary:
This dissertation develops an understanding of the political process that led to the establishment of the International Criminal Court. To understand the politics of the construction of the International Criminal Court we must account for the success of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in securing support for a strong, independent court. Ninety-nine states have ratified the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court, creating a strong, independent, and potentially effective institution for assuring that the worst crimes under international law are punished. At its inception the ICC has jurisdiction over three categories of crimes, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.; How did it come to pass that so many states were willing to cede such substantial authority to an international tribunal? I document the process through which NGOs discursive practices shaped the content of the Rome ICC Statute by analyzing the arguments surrounding the treaty negotiations and ratification process. My central claim is that NGOs use of principled discourse appealing to notions of fundamental fairness was effective in shaping the ICC negotiations. The ICC was established with a strong independent prosecutor and jurisdiction that states cannot refuse on a case-by-case basis; features that few observers expected states to accept before 1998.; Methodologically, I adopt a constructivist approach employing process tracing and discourse analysis rooted in the theory of communicative action. The methodology applied in the analysis of the ICC discourse involves establishing criteria for distinguishing between discursive moves that are forms of action oriented towards reaching mutual understandings as opposed to discursive practices focused on achieving strategic objectives. The project contributes to the literature on the foundations of international cooperation by demonstrating the role that non-state actors can play in the discursive development of shared norms, which in this case served as the principled foundations for a new international institution. Continued resistance to the ICC by the United States and others shows the limits of such principled consensus, but does not negate the cooperative achievement attained by the ICC member states, and the success of pro-ICC actors in institutionalizing their normative preferences.
Keywords/Search Tags:International criminal court, ICC, States, Process
Related items