Some readers may wonder why I chose to write my column this week about the International Criminal Court, rather than the obvious subject - the G8 meeting in Japan.

The reason is that I had a thoroughly discouraging lunch with my colleague, Alan Beattie. When I mentioned that I might write about the G8, he said - “Let me guess, you will say…” and proceeded to reel off a string of cliches, which had indeed been the basis of my putative column.

Alan then forwarded me a generic column on international institutions that he has written. It really says it all - and I think I may simply reproduce it, every year, round about G8 time.

It goes as follows:

By reporters everywhere

An ineffectual international organisation yesterday issued a stark
warning about a situation it has absolutely no power to change, the
latest in a series of self-serving interventions by toothless
intergovernmental bodies.

“We are seriously concerned about this most serious outbreak of
seriousness,” said the head of the institution, either a former minister from a developing country or a mid-level European or American bureaucrat. “This is a wake-up
call to the world. They must take on board the vital message that my
organisation exists.” Continue reading "The G8: How to write about pointless international organisations" »

Last Friday was a big day at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Jean-Pierre Bemba, former vice-president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was charged with multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Resplendent in a grey suit and red tie, Mr Bemba looked like a respectable statesman. But he is charged with grave crimes, including the use of mass rape as an instrument of war.

It was the sort of moment that advocates of the ICC always dreamt of. But, as it celebrates its 10th anniversary, the ICC is facing its own indictment. Its critics charge that its work is often counter-productive, politicised and plain incompetent. The dream of universal, international justice is in danger of turning into a nightmare.

In theory, the ICC can serve two vital purposes. It provides justice for victims. It may also deter future atrocities. Angelina Jolie, an actress, summed up these hopes when she wrote last year in The Economist that: “Only through justice will we achieve peace.”

The remainder of this column can be read here. Please post comments below.

So much for a “fresh start” between Britain and Russia, in the Medvedev era. It sounds like Gordon Brown and President Medvedev had a pretty disastrous meeting yesterday.

There is a striking contrast between the way the Russians are willing to deal with the British and their treatment of the Americans. Put bluntly, the Russians seem happy to beat up on the British and are much more careful to maintain a reasonably friendly relationship with the Bush administration.

It is true that there are some very tricky issues between Russia and Britain - the BP row, the legacy of the Litvinenko murder and so on. But the Russians also have serious disputes with America - over missile defence, Nato expansion etc. I’m afraid it may simply be that it is easier to bully Gordon Brown’s Britain than George Bush’s America. In fact, I wonder whether Britain might not be becoming a surrogate for Russian anti-American feeling? Continue reading "Medvedev and Brown" »

There is a fascinating page in this morning’s FT on the latest “will they, won’t they” speculation on an Israeli attack on Iran.

The big third player in this drama is the US. As ever the questions are - will the Israelis be able to persuade the Americans to attack? If not, will they get the green light from the Americans to stage an attack themselves?

Like everything else in the US at the moment, the Iran question is being seen through the prism of the presidential election. Continue reading "Iran and the US election" »

It is rarely a good sign when you begin to re-live your childhood. Of late, I have found myself drifting back to the 1970s with disturbing frequency. Once again, the British newspapers are full of headlines about Saudi oil sheikhs, inflation and trade-union militancy. A terrorist threat hangs over London. The England team has failed to qualify for a major football tournament. All it needs is some power cuts and the return of glam rock – and I will be right back into my second childhood.But my most insistent flashbacks are to the US, not Britain. I spent the summer of 1976 in California, where I made the discovery that American politics is much more exciting than the British variety.

The US was in the throes of a presidential election and the Democratic party had produced a new and exciting candidate – Jimmy Carter. Like Barack Obama today, Mr Carter was inexperienced; but he promised a fresh start and an opportunity to change America’s image in the world.

There are close parallels between the elections of 1976 and 2008. The Iraq war, like the Vietnam war, has demoralised America and stoked the desire for change. But once again, there are fears that defeat might lead to a loss of American credibility or to a resurgence of isolationism.

The remainder of this column can be read here. Please post comments below.

A week ago I urged my colleague, Wolfgang Munchau, to elaborate on his argument that a country can legally be chucked out of the European Union. Today he obliges.

But - as ever - one question begets another. All the remedies Wolfgang suggests are so drastic that one is left wondering, why bother? Essentially, the idea seems to be that all the countries currently in the EU quit the Union and then re-group in a new Union - minus the Irish and any other recalcitrants. This procedure reminds me of the famous remark attributed to an American army officer in Vietnam - “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.” Continue reading "Destroying Europe to save it" »

Bill Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, obviously goes to some great parties. He writes in The New York Times that :

“The last few years, we’ve spent July Fourth at the house of friends who have had the assembled company read the entire declaration (of independence)… I was doubtful at first that reading the declaration would enhance the overall beer-and-hamburger experience of the day. But the effort has proved more thought-provoking and patriotism-stirring than I expected.”

I’ve also been to some July 4th parties. It can be a slightly awkward experience as a British passport holder - since the whole thing is a celebration of throwing off the colonial yoke. It’s the same thing with being invited round for Thanksgiving dinner - since the Americans are, in fact, celebrating leaving Britain and landing in the Americas. At some point, one of of your hosts, is bound to smile and say - “I guess you Brits don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving.”

Simon Hoggart of The Guardian has come up with the perfect response to this: “On the contrary, we give thanks for getting rid of all those dreary Puritans.” I once tried this out on my American hosts, but they didn’t really laugh.

My joy at Spain’s victory in the football last night is almost unconfined. I say almost because Spain were England’s companions as the great under-achievers of world soccer. Now they have won something. So it’s back to not so splendid isolation for the English.

At the beginning of the tournament, I speculated about reasons for longstanding Spanish footballing failure. Perhaps, it had something to do with a lack of a strong sense of nationhood in Spain?

Well, that theory has clearly not withstood the test of Torres. But how about the new theory - that footballing victory will create a surge of Spanish nationalism that will help to bind the nation together? Continue reading "Spanish triumph" »

As the sham Zimbabwean election proceeds, there is increasing discussion of charging Robert Mugabe with crimes against humanity - with a view to an eventual trial at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

Many liberals regard the establishment of the ICC as a triumph for international justice and victims’ rights- and a crucial breach in the idea of inviolable national sovereignty. They also argue that future dictators might be deterred by the sight of prosecutions in the Hague.

But - it seems to me - there are two coherent counter-arguments. The first is pragmatic. It will be much harder to persuade dictators to leave power, if they fear they may end up in the dock in the Hague. Some argue that Mr Mugabe might have agreed to go into exile, were it not for the sight of Charles Tayor - the former Liberian dictator - going on trial at the ICC. Taylor himself, it is argued, only quit office because he thought he had an amnesty. Mugabe and others like him will now never believe in amnesty offers - and so they will cling onto power regardless. Continue reading "Mugabe and the Hague" »

In a gloomy take on the future of Turkey, published in the FT, Cengiz Aktar wrote that henceforth the only sources of satisfaction for his fellow countrymen would be triumphs on the football field. Alas, even that was denied them last night.

Everybody I have spoken to - as well as the TV panel - agreed that Turkey played much better than Germany and deserved to win. I like to think that this pro-Turk bias reflected what happened on the pitch and the traditional British preference for the underdog - rather than the equally traditional British antipathy towards Germany.

The game was enthralling. But the moment I most enjoyed was when the cameras cut away to the stands, after Germany had scored. Chancellor Angela Merkel was on her feet cheering. But next to her, Michel Platini, the head of UEFA, looked like he was going to throw up. Perhaps Platini was having a flash-back to the two semi-finals that France lost to Germany in the World Cups of 1982 and 1986. He played in both games and in the 1982 match, in particular, France had totally outplayed Germany. Bitter memories.

Still, I think Aktar is too gloomy in thinking that only football can provide emotional satisfaction for Turks. He is forgetting the shock Turkish victory in the Prospect magazine poll of global intellectuals. Continue reading "Turkey, triumph and disaster" »