Nation-States and International Law: Israel’s War on Gaza and the Illusion of Universal Human Rights

Catalina Catana; Simen Ekeberg

doi:10.22151/politikon.58.3

Authors

Catalina Catana University of Manchester https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7813-0373
Simen Ekeberg https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9557-3830

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.58.3

Keywords:

Palestinian Liberation, Postcolonial Cosmopolitanism, Nation-states Regime, Decolonization, Human Rights, International Law, Nationalism, Gaza, Israel

Abstract

This article explores the frictions between national sovereignty and the universalization of human rights, highlighting the deep colonial roots and persistent coloniality within the nation-state system and international law. It critiques the liberal framework of nation-states that marginalize “non-nationals” while also perpetuating colonial relations and racial hierarchies through unequal integration into the nation-state system. The ongoing assault on Gaza starkly illustrates the violence inherent within the nation-state and points to the limitations of the current human rights framework. Advocating for a decolonial approach, the article argues that the violence in Palestine underscores the need to rethink and debate international law and human rights, expanding on decolonial scholarship to liberate these frameworks from their colonial, modern, and capitalist contexts.

Author Biographies

Catalina Catana, University of Manchester

Catalina Catana has a master’s in Global Development from the University of Copenhagen and is starting as a PhD candidate at the University of Manchester in the fall of 2024. She also writes for Moldovan and international outlets on gender, social justice & nationalism in the post-Soviet space. Examples of writings can be found following these links: Platzforma.md, Moldova.org, and the Postcolonial.

Simen Ekeberg

Simen Ekeberg is a programme officer at the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre in Norway and holds a master’s in Global Development from the University of Copenhagen. At the beginning of 2023, he conducted fieldwork in various regions in the West Bank in Palestine for his master’s thesis titled “The Paradox of Palestinian Nationalism and Education”.

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