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Line Engbo Gissel

Associate Professor, Global Political Sociology, Roskilde University

I research transitional justice, the legalisation and judicialisation of politics, and the politics of international law. I have written about 1) transitional justice theory; 2) the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other international justice institutions; and 3) African government relations with international courts.

My new book, co-written with Peter Brett, is 'Africa and the Backlash Against International Courts' (Zed, 2020). It studies African government and society backlash against the ICC and significant regional courts: the SADC Tribunal, The East African Court of Justice, and the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice. We argue that specific regional and sub-regional norms explain when and why governments react against international courts. And we show how the actions of African states should be seen as part of a growing desire for a more equal global order; a trend that not only has huge implications for Africa’s international relations, but that could potentially change the entire practice of international law.

My first book, 'The International Criminal Court and Peace Processes in Africa: Judicialising Peace' (Routledge, 2018), studies the impact of ICC involvement on peace processes in Kenya and Uganda, and tests these findings on the Colombian peace process. It demonstrates when and how ICC involvement harms a peace process and theories when such international judicialisation allows a political settlement to take place.

My new research project is 'The Standardisation of Transitional Justice: Consolidation, Innovation and Politics', funded by the Independent Fund for Research in Denmark. It will commence in August 2020.

Experience

  • –present
    Associate Professor, Global Political Sociology, Roskilde University