Do International Criminal Courts Actually Deter War Crimes? |Interview with Jacqueline McAllister

Summary: Jacqueline McAllister is an assistant professor of political science at Kenyon College. Her article, titled "Deterring Wartime Atrocities: Hard Lessons from the Yugoslav Tribunal" examines whether or not the ICTY was able to prevent war crimes during the wars in the Balkans. She finds that, indeed, there were some circumstances in which the ICTY deterred war crimes. We discuss conditions for deterrence , how she arrived at her findings, and the implications her study has for other war crimes tribunals.