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About Martin Shaw

Martin Shaw is research professor of international relations at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI) and the University of Sussex, and professorial fellow in international relations and human rights at the University of Roehampton.

Among his books are War and Genocide: Organised Killing in Modern Society (Polity, 2003); The New Western Way of War: Risk-Transfer War and its Crisis in Iraq (Polity, 2005); and What is Genocide? (Polity, 2007). His website is here  

Articles by Martin Shaw

Wednesday 21st December

2012, the next upheaval

Martin Shaw, 21 December 2011
The coming year will see a fusion of the global political and economic trends that accelerated in 2011. The results could be ugly as well as hopeful, says Martin Shaw.
Monday 12th December

Welcome to Little Tory England

Martin Shaw, 12 December 2011
The British prime minister's breach with the European Union is part of a wider political process leading England towards a meaner, harder, narrower and unfairer future. But the resources to stop it happening are also there, says Martin Shaw.
Monday 5th September

Libya: the revolution-intervention dynamic

Martin Shaw, 5 September 2011
The success of Libya’s uprising is welcome - even if both the rebel movement and foreign support for it reflect the inevitable contradictions of politics. The challenge now includes holding account all perpetrators of atrocity, says Martin Shaw.
Tuesday 31st May

International justice, wild west vs ICC: a coming crisis

Martin Shaw, 31 May 2011
The killing of Osama bin Laden and arrest of Ratko Mladic highlight the precariousness of international order and international law as much as their advance, says Martin Shaw.
Thursday 7th April

Libya: popular revolt, military intervention

Martin Shaw, 7 April 2011
The changing dynamics of the Libyan conflict highlight the contradictions of "humanitarian intervention" when pressed to serve the western way of war, says Martin Shaw.
Monday 7th March

The global democratic revolution: a new stage

Martin Shaw, 7 March 2011
The popular risings in the Arab world belong to a wider historical process of worldwide democratic advance. But the disastrous events of the post-9/11 decade have made it far slower and more conflictual than was needed, says Martin Shaw
Tuesday 7th December

Street politics, violence, and media

Martin Shaw, 7 December 2010
The student movement in Britain against the government’s tuition-fees and spending policies faces inescapable political questions over the character and limits of democratic protest, says Martin Shaw.
Thursday 4th November

Iraq, war and WikiLeaks: the real story

Martin Shaw, 4 November 2010
The tranche of American military documents released by the WikiLeaks project contains a wealth of detail about the coalition's indifference to civilian life. But the materials also tell a deeper story of “how” war has killed in Iraq, says Martin Shaw.
Thursday 16th September

The politics of genocide: Rwanda & DR Congo

Martin Shaw, 16 September 2010
A revisionist reading of the Rwanda genocide of 1994 endorsed by Noam Chomsky confirms the moral blindness of the denialist left, says Martin Shaw.
Wednesday 18th August

The Holocaust, genocide studies, and politics

Martin Shaw, 18 August 2010
A compelling argument among scholars of genocide reflects the gradual development of the field beyond its point of origin, the Nazi murder of Europe’s Jews. The questions include whether and how different episodes of mass killing should be seen in a common frame; how such a development changes understanding of the Holocaust; and how historical interpretation and modern political argument intertwine, not least over Israel and anti-semitism. Martin Shaw, both participant and observer in this debate, presents an overview of its core issues.
Tuesday 13th April

Nigeria and the politics of massacre

Martin Shaw, 13 April 2010
The brutal violence against people of a different ethnicity or religion seen in the central Nigerian state of Jos is the most common face of genocide worldwide, says Martin Shaw.
Friday 29th January

Britain and genocide

Martin Shaw, 29 January 2010
The official annual commemoration of a century of genocide and its victims should be accompanied by a responsible awareness of Britain’s own historical record, says Martin Shaw. (This article was first published on 27 January 2009)
Wednesday 9th December

Sri Lanka: power and accountability

Martin Shaw, 9 December 2009
The degrading aftermath of Sri Lanka’s civil war demands international action to ensure protection of its civilians from their overweening rulers, says Martin Shaw.
Tuesday 3rd November

The Karadzic trial and Bosnian realities

Martin Shaw, 3 November 2009
The trial of the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is a test of justice and accountability over terrible crimes. But the trend of events in Bosnia itself also demands the international community’s urgent attention, says Martin Shaw.
Wednesday 14th October

DR Congo: arc of war, map of responsibility

Martin Shaw, 14 October 2009
A new assessment illuminates the roots of conflict in Africa's most complex region
Wednesday 26th August

Israeli settlements and “ethnic cleansing”

Martin Shaw, 26 August 2009
A case against the dismantling of Israel's West Bank communities has surprising consequences  
Monday 27th July

Afghanistan and Iraq: western wars, genocidal risks

Martin Shaw, 27 July 2009
The “new western way of war” inflicts great harm on civilians. But how to define this harm?
Tuesday 30th June

Sri Lanka - camps, media…genocide?

Martin Shaw, 30 June 2009
What kind of violence has the Sri Lankan state been committing against its Tamil civilian population?
Wednesday 10th June

The trouble with guns: Sri Lanka, South Africa, Ireland

Martin Shaw, 10 June 2009

The use of violence as an instrument of political liberation leads rather to failure and regression, says Martin Shaw.

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