: Interviewing people who have been tried, convicted, or acquitted for atrocity crimes is an incredibly difficult undertaking, potentially even dangerous. Not so much because these individuals still pose a threat, but because of the risks involved in traveling through countries with non-existent traffic rules, or because of the reputational risks for the researcher involved. In an academic field brimming with high moral expectations (“end impunity, end mass crimes”), who dares to speak to these “monsters” in the first place? Damien Scalia, professor in criminal law at the Université libre de Bruxelles, did just that. The impressive War Criminals on Trial: An Inside View of the International Criminal Justice System is a testament to his ambitious endeavor of speaking to war criminals. Over a period of fifteen years, he conducted interviews with more than sixty individuals prosecuted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Across different continents, he spoke to both
: Interviewing people who have been tried, convicted, or acquitted for atrocity crimes is an incredibly difficult undertaking, potentially even dangerous. Not so much because these individuals still pose a threat, but because of the risks involved in traveling through countries with non-existent traffic rules, or because of the reputational risks for the researcher involved. In an academic field brimming with high moral expectations (“end impunity, end mass crimes”), who dares to speak to these “monsters” in the first place? Damien Scalia, professor in criminal law at the Université libre de Bruxelles, did just that. The impressive War Criminals on Trial: An Inside View of the International Criminal Justice System is a testament to his ambitious endeavor of speaking to war criminals. Over a period of fifteen years, he conducted interviews with more than sixty individuals prosecuted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Across different continents, he spoke to both
: Muriel Cohen’s book contributes to a burgeoning scholarship about Algerians’ place in France in the 20th century. It is part of a historiography that grapples with France’s troubled and troubling history as an imperial nation state. Cohen identifies her goal “to bring out the uniqueness of Algerian family immigration” by considering both their interaction with the state and the “multiple pathways” they took (p. 22). In other words, she reminds us that Algerians’ experiences have been more diverse than depictions—in the media and in political circles—have allowed. Cohen’s work traces the medium durée (p. 19) from the end of World War II through the early Mitterrand administration. It builds on previous scholarship. Structurally, the book has three sections which follow chronologically. The first examines the period of the Algerian War for Independence (1954-1962). Her chapters focus on key problems the French administration identified—housing, social services, and education—via a