CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Berta, Zsófia |
|---|---|
| Title | Failure to "Distinguish": Discourse of Justifications for IHL Non-Compliance in the Gaza and Ukraine Wars |
| Summary | This thesis represents a new addition to the list of scholarly pieces exploring compliance with International Law. While this realm has been extensively theorised, adherence to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) has received less spotlight, despite its importance. Taking non-compliance with the principle of distinction as the main variable, a specific focus is applied on instances where state actors have failed to ‘distinguish’ between civilian and military objectives in armed conflict. As this principle is one amongst the core humanitarian obligations, its breach prompts a response from non-compliant state actors, in the form of justification statements. This research applies a qualitative comparative framework on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine and identifies main patterns of justifications through discourse analysis. It finds two distinct state strategies that are triggered by non-compliance with the principle of distinction: one of absolute denial, and the other of legitimising the action through IHL. Further, it concludes that compliance is essentially a speech act, its audience being the international community who decides of the viability of that justification. Lastly, the author argues that the system of IHL needs to be reformed to offer a stricter protection to civilians during war. |
| Supervisor | Nagy, Boldizsár |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/berta_zsofia.pdf |
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