Kurt Mills. 2015. International Responses to Mass Atrocities in Africa: Responsibility to Protect, Prosecute, and Palliate

Abstract

Kurt Mills. 2015. International Responses to Mass Atrocities in Africa: Responsibility to Protect, Prosecute, and Palliate. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 302 pp. The question that the book strives to answer is a complex one: "How have, can, and should mass atrocities be addressed?" (p. 1). Hence, the book is simultaneously historical-empirical, analysing four interrelated cases of mass atrocities in Africa, exploratory, or analytical, seeking to determine the horizon of possible and feasible international responses, and normative, seeking to establish not only that the international community should do something but also what responses are desirable and when. As such, it is an important contribution to both the study of conflict in Africa and of global response strategies, such as responsibility to protect (R2P). The cases analysed in the volume are Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Darfur. There are apt reasons for selecting these particular cases. First of all, there are underlying causes for the conflicts in the areas under analysis: not only are they geographically linked but the factors creating instability in one place have directly or indirectly influenced atrocities elsewhere. Secondly, they are similar in terms of international responses or, to be more precise, the lack of an effective international solution. This international reaction manifested itself, and was deficient in different ways in all particular cases: the lack of willingness to acknowledge the gravity of the situation and thus act decisively in Rwanda, inability to adapt to the complexity of the situation in DRC, potential complications of pressing for international criminal justice in an ongoing conflict (Uganda), and the general unwillingness of the international community to confront national authorities (Darfur). They also show that some response strategies, like peace and justice, are not always commensurable (although the author also sets out in a quest for conditions when the two are not mutually exclusive, thus moving beyond the already well-trodden peace vs justice debate). And also the analysis reveals how the current multifaceted nature of response to mass atrocities can be counter-productive: a complex network of actors, which is part both of the solution and of the problem. Revealing this complicated network of interests, values, and actors is a significant achievement of the book. The author also aims to expand the concept of R2P by elaborating on the "P" part of it: in this book, it stands for not only "protect" but also "prosecute" and "palliate" (hence the book's subtitle), rewriting the standard formula from R2P to R2P3. …