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The International Politics of War Crimes

Objective

Armed conflicts are governed by International Humanitarian Law (IHL). While IHL is fundamentally a political agreement between states, there are significant gaps in research on the political dimensions of war crimes. This is largely a consequence of lack of data. The WARCRIMES project is an ambitious effort to systematize our empirical knowledge of war crimes, thereby enabling cutting-edge research on the political landscape of international criminal justice. The project makes two main contributions. First, the project offers a systematic empirical mapping of contemporary war crimes. Second, the project develops a joint framework for systematically analyzing international repsonses and their effects. The project develops a comprehensive global dataset on war crimes, covering 1995–2027, by employing supervised machine learning combined with human coding. The dataset maps violations across three layers: potential war crimes reported in media, alleged crimes identified by international organizations, and war crimes established by courts. It captures diverse types of war crimes—ranging from unlawful targeting and violations of physical integrity to crimes of deception—while transparently distinguishing between levels of certainty. Building on this unique resource, the project investigates four interrelated questions: Which war crimes attract international judicial and political attention? How do states and international organizations respond—whether through punitive, persuasive, or permissive measures—and under what conditions? To what extent do these responses deter or constrain future violations? And how does public opinion shape the legitimacy and effectiveness of responses? Combining descriptive quantitative analysis, statistical methods for causal inference, and cross-national survey experiments, the project advances theory on compliance with international humanitarian law and the politics of accountability.

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Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) ERC-2025-ADG

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Host institution

UPPSALA UNIVERSITET
Net EU contribution
€ 2 500 000,00
Address
VON KRAEMERS ALLE 4
751 05 Uppsala
Sweden
Region
Östra Sverige Östra Mellansverige Uppsala län
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost
No data

Beneficiaries (1)