Victor Peskin
Associate Professor,
School of Politics and Global Studies
Other ASU affiliations
Affiliate,
Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict
Affiliate,
Melikian Center
Faculty Affiliate,
Jewish Studies
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Phone: 480-965-4733
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COOR 6688 Tempe, AZ 85281
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Mail code: 3902Campus: Tempe
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Long Bio
Victor Peskin joined the School of Politics and Global Studies as an assistant professor in spring of 2006. His research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of international relations, comparative politics, and human rights. His research seeks to understand the conflicts between international legal institutions and nation-states that have ensued with the expansion of international humanitarian and human rights law. He is particularly interested in the political and philosophical battles between international war crimes tribunals and states implicated in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The outcome of these tribunal-state conflicts will determine the viability of the emerging system of international criminal courts to prosecute individual suspects charged with human rights violations.
Education
Ph.D. Department of Political Science, University of California-Berkeley
Research Interests
Peskin's book projects, articles, and book chapters focus on the politics of international criminal justice. Peskin is the co-author of Hiding in Plain Sight: The Pursuit of War Criminals from Nuremberg to the War on Terror (University of California Press 2016).
Peskin is also the author of International Justice in Rwanda and the Balkans: Virtual Trials and the Struggle for State Cooperation (Cambridge University Press, 2008). The book was selected as a CHOICE 2008 Outstanding Academic Title. The book tells the story of how the UN International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda prod states implicated in atrocities to hand over their own leaders for trial. Drawing on his 300 interviews with tribunal officials, Balkan and Rwandan politicians and Western diplomats, Peskin uncovers the politicized and protracted state-tribunal struggle over cooperation. Key to his analysis is an explanation of how domestic politics – including the shifting balance of power between moderate and nationalist politicians – shapes and is shaped by the state-tribunal struggle over compliance. In the conclusion, Peskin examines the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Criminal Court, the next steps on the trajectory of international war crimes tribunals. His analysis focuses on how the diminished legal authority of these new courts affects their struggle for cooperation. Peskin has also published articles in the Journal of International Criminal Justice, the Journal of Human Rights, Europe-Asia Studies, Legal Affairs, and International Peacekeeping. His research has been supported by the United States Institute of Peace, the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at UC San Diego, the Berkeley Center for African Studies, and the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley. Peskin’s current research includes a project that examines the range of challenges that the International Criminal Court confronts in its efforts to prosecute war crimes suspects in Sudan and Uganda. At the School of Global Studies, Peskin has developed and taught a number of courses, including Violence, Conflict, and Human Rights; Humanitarian Crisis and International Intervention; the Politics of Global Justice; Working in International Organizations; and Facing the Past: Truth, Memory and Denial After Atrocity.
Publications
- Victor Peskin (and four other authors). Background policy paper on the impact of the Rome Statute systems on victims and affected communities. Prepared for the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court (2010).
- Victor Peskin. "Caution and Confrontation in the International Criminal Court’s Pursuit of Accountability in Uganda and Sudan," (Refereed publication). Human Rights Quarterly (2009).
- Victor Peskin. "The International Criminal Court, the Security Council, and the Politics of Impunity in Darfur," 4, 3, December 2009. (Refereed publication). Genocide Studies and Prevention (2009).
- . . Review of: Courting Conflict? Justice, Peace and the ICC in Africa (2009).
- . . Review of: The Politics of Constructing the International Criminal Court: NGOs, Discourse, and Agency (2009).
- Victor Peskin. International Justice in Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia: Virtual Trials and the Struggle for State Cooperation. (2008).
- Victor Peskin. Beyond Victor's Justice? The Challenge of Prosecuting the Winners at the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Journal of Human Rights (2005).
- . Courting Rwanda: The Promises and Pitfalls of the ICTR Outreach Programme. (2005).
- Victor Peskin. International Justice and Domestic Politics: Post-Tudjman Croatia and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, with Mieczyslaw Boduszynski. Europe-Asia Studies (2003).
- Peskin, Victor. After Zoran Djindjic: The Future of International Criminal Justice. (2003).
- Peskin, Victor. Report on Internship at the International Criminal Tribunal For Rwanda. (2003).
- Victor Peskin. Rwandan Ghosts. Legal Affairs (2002).
- Peskin, Victor. The Other Tribunal: World Must Watch Rwandan Court. (2002).
- Peskin, Victor. DNA and the Death Penalty: DNA and Human Rights Project. (2001).
- Victor Peskin. "Seeing Like a Court: Documenting Histories of Armed Conflict through the Lens of Judging International Crimes: A Review Essay on Richard Wilson's Writing History International Trials," Human Rights Quarterly, 35 (2013) 769-778. Human rights quarterly (0).
- Joseph R. Rudolph, Jr. and William J. Lahneman. "Conditional Conditionality: The European Union, International Justice, and the Democratic Transition in Serbia,". From Mediation to Nation-Building: Third Parties and the Management of Communal Conflict, eds. Joseph R. Rudolph, Jr. and William J. Lahneman (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013): 189-210 (0).
- Victor Peskin. "An Ideal Becoming Real? The International Criminal Court and the Limits of the Cosmopolitan Vision of Justice". Cosmopolitanism in Context: Perspectives from International Law and Theory (0).
- Victor Peskin and Eric Stover. The international criminal Court's risky move. (0).
Research Activity
- Cady,Linell E*, Carlson,John, Durfee,Alesha D, Gallab,Abdullahi A, Henn,Alexander Ernst, Jacobson,David, Peskin,Victor, Saenz,Delia S, Schober,Juliane S. Teaching and Talking About Religion - Phase II. FORD FDN(8/15/2008 - 8/14/2011).
Courses
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SGS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SGS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| SGS 341 | Humanitarian Crisis&Intl Intrv |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| POS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| POS 394 | Special Topics |
| POS 394 | Special Topics |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| POS 305 | Politics and Film |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SGS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SGS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| POS 598 | Special Topics |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| GSC 598 | Special Topics |
| SGS 494 | Special Topics |
| SGS 494 | Special Topics |
| POS 305 | Politics and Film |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SGS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SGS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| SGS 341 | Humanitarian Crisis&Intl Intrv |
2022 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SGS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SGS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| GSC 598 | Special Topics |
| SGS 494 | Special Topics |
| SGS 494 | Special Topics |
| POS 305 | Politics and Film |
2022 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SGS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SGS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| POS 394 | Special Topics |
2021 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SGS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SGS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SGS 344 | Facing the Past: Truth, Memory |
| GSC 598 | Special Topics |
| SGS 494 | Special Topics |
| SGS 494 | Special Topics |
2021 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SGS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SGS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| POS 598 | Special Topics |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
2020 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SGS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SGS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SGS 394 | Special Topics |
| SGS 344 | Facing the Past: Truth, Memory |
| POS 394 | Special Topics |
Presentations
- Victor Peskin. "The International Criminal Court and the Politics of African Sovereignty". Talk given at ASU Law School (Oct 2013).
- Victor Peskin. "The New Victor's Justice vs. the Principle of Evenhandedness: Prosecutorial Selectivity from the Rwanda Tribunal to the ICC". Invited Lecturer at the University of Oslo (May 2013).
- Victor Peskin. Libya and the International Criminal Court. Workshop Presentation at Hebrew University (Feb 2013).
- Victor Peskin. Invited paper, "The Selection Conundrum: The Politics of Prosecutorial Selection and Discretion at the International Criminal Court". University of Connecticut (Oct 2010).
- Victor Peskin. Invited paper, "The Selection Conundrum: The Politics of Prosecutorial Selection and Discretion at the International Criminal Court,". ASU Center for Law and Global Affairs Winter Workshop in Interdisciplinary Approaches to Transnation (Feb 2010).
- Victor Peskin. Guest speaker, The Scientific Research Community on Prosecutorial Policies on International Tribunals Conference, Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, Leuven, Belgium, December, 2009. Workshop Conference (Dec 2009).
- Victor Peskin. Guest speaker, The Scientific Research Community on Prosecutorial Policies on International Tribunals Conference, Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, Leuven, Belgium, July 2009. Workshop Conference (Jul 2009).
- Victor Peskin. Plenary panel paper presentation, "Trials of Cooperation, State Defiance, and the Changing Politics of Global Justice from the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals to the International Criminal Court". Conference on Transitional Justice, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, June 2009 (Jun 2009).
- Victor Peskin. Research presented, "The Enforcement Problem and International War Crimes Tribunals". Human Rights Faculty Working Group, Arizona State University, April 2009 (Apr 2009).
- Victor Peskin. Balancing International Justice in the Balkans: The European Union, The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the Politics of ‘Conditionality'. International Studies Association Annual Meeting (Feb 2009).
- Victor Peskin. Discussant. author-meets-critic symposium to discuss Jim Nickel’s Making Sense of Human Rights, Human Rights Fac (Feb 2009).
- Victor Peskin. The Role of External Relations at the Contemporary War Crimes Tribunals. Conference of the Scientific Research Community on Prosecutorial Policies on International Tribunals (Dec 2008).
- Victor Peskin. "The international chief prosecutor and the role of external relations". Conference of the Scientific Research Community on Prosecutorial Policies on International Tribunals (May 2008).
- Victor Peskin. "The Prosecutor's Predicament: Moral Equivalence and Victor's Justice in Contemporary International Justice". ASU Politics and Ethics Working Group seminar (Apr 2008).
- Victor Peskin. International Justice in Rwanda and the Balkans: Virtual Trials and the Struggle for State Cooperation. Author-Meets-Critic Book Event for Victor Peskin's new book on war crimes tribunals (Mar 2008).
- Victor Peskin. The Politics of International War Crimes Tribunals. School of Global Studies, Global Think Tank Course (Mar 2008).
- Victor Peskin. "Peace, Justice, and the Role of the Chief Prosecutor at the ICC and the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals". International Studies Association Conference (Mar 2008).
- Peskin, Victor. The Chief Prosecutor and the Challenge of State Compliance. Conference of the Scientific Research Community on Prosecutorial Policies on International Tribunals (Dec 2006).
- Peskin, Victor. International Organizations. (Oct 2006).
- Peskin, Victor. Introductory Lecture on International Criminal Tribunals. Arizona State University law school course (Oct 2006).
- Peskin, Victor. Building Soft Power: International War Crimes Tribunals and the Hunt for Fugitives. Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (Sep 2006).
- Peskin, Victor. International War Crimes Tribunals and Contested Legitimacy, Issues of Legitimacy in International Politics. School of Global Studies inaugural faculty panel (Apr 2006).
- Peskin, Victor. The Prosecutor and the Fugitive: International War Crimes Tribunals and the Problem of State Cooperation. International Institutions and Global Justice Speaker Series (Mar 2006).
- Peskin, Victor. International Justice. (Apr 2005).
- Peskin, Victor. Political Innovation and the Struggle for State Cooperation: The Role of the Chief Prosecutor at The Hague and Rwanda War Crimes Tribunals. Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (Aug 2003).
- Peskin, Victor. The Domestic Politics of War Crimes Prosecutions. Graduate course on Balkan politics (Apr 2003).
- Peskin, Victor. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Challenge of State Cooperation. Annual Spring Conference (Apr 2003).
- Peskin, Victor. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: Implications for Post-Conflict Iraq, Cambodia, and the International Criminal Court. Research Colloquium (Apr 2003).
- Peskin, Victor. The Politics of State Cooperation with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Association for the Study of Nationalities, Eighth Annual World Convention (Apr 2003).
- Peskin, Victor. Tribunals, Transitional Justice, and Democratization in the Yugoslav Successor States. Conference on Reconstruction and Development in Southeastern Europe (Feb 2003).
- Peskin, Victor. Croatia's Moments of Truth: The Politics of State Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The Berkeley Program in Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies Graduate Student Seminar (Dec 2002).
- Peskin, Victor. Reconstructing Communities in Crisis. Dissertation workshop in Sonoma County (Apr 2001).
- Peskin, Victor. Institutional Design and the Pursuit of Justice: An Analysis of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Law & Society Annual Conference (May 2000).
- Peskin, Victor. International Justice and Legal Structure: An Analysis of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The Berkeley-Stanford Joint Center for African Studies Annual Spring Conference (Apr 2000).
- Peskin, Victor. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the United Nations. Undergraduate course on the United Nations (Feb 2000).
Service
- ASU interdisciplinary faculty working group on genocide and collective memory, Member (2013 - Present)
- Department research working group on nationalism and ethno-religious dynamics, Member (2013 - Present)
- Undergraduate curriculum committee, Member (2013 - Present)
- School of Politics and Global Studies, Member of Planning and Leadership Committee (2009 - Present)
- Center for Law and Global Affairs, Advisory Board and Faculty Fellow (2009 - Present)
- School of Global Studies Governance Working Group, Member (2006 - Present)
- Middle East/Jewish studies job search committee, Member (2013 - 2013)
- The University of Wisconsin press, External reviewer (2013 - 2013)
- American Political Science Association, Best Article Award Committee, Member (2008 - 2011)
- American Political Science Association, Human Rights Section, Member of Best Article Award Committee (2008 - 2011)
- For a listing of university and professional service, please see pages 10-12 in the attached vitae, Varied (2010 - 2010)
- School of Politics and Global Studies, Member, International Relations Search Committee (2009 - 2010)
- School of Global Studies, Editor of Newsletter (2007 - 2009)
- Journal of Human Rights, Peer Reviewer (2009 - 2009)
- World Politics, Peer Reviewer (2009 - 2009)
- Department of Political Science, Arizona State University, Affiliated Professor (2006 - 2009)
- Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, Arizona State University, Affiliate (2006 - 2009)
- Europe-Asia Studies, Peer Reviewer (2009 - 2009)
- School of Politics and Global Studies, Member Steering Committee (2008 - 2009)
- National Science Foundation, Peer Reviewer (2009 - 2009)
- International Organization, Peer Reviewer (2009 - 2009)
- Proposed program committee for new campus center on transnational public-private governance, member (2008 - 2008)
- ASU Research Cluster, "Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Rights and Social Justice", Member (2008 - 2008)
- Ford Foundation-funded Difficult Dialogues Curriculum Development Group, ASU, Member (2008 - 2008)
- ASU Center for the Study of Religion and COnflict, Faculty affiliate (2008 - 2008)
- American Political Science Association, Member (2008 - 2008)
- Barrett Honors College, Honors Disciplinary Faculty (2008 - 2008)
- International Studies Association, Member (2008 - 2008)
- Schools for Schools ASU, Faculty Advisor (2008 - 2008)
- The Scientific Research Community on Prosecutorial Policies on International Tribunals, Member (2008 - 2008)
- Ethics and Politics Faculty Working Group, Member (2007 - 2008)
- School of Global Studies, Departmental newsletter, Coordinator/editor (2007 - 2008)
- School of Global Studies, Track concentration in Violence, Conflict, and Human Rights, Coordinator (2006 - 2008)
- Ethics and International Affairs, External manuscript reviewer (2008 - 2008)
- Oxford University Press, External manuscript reviewer (2008 - 2008)
- School of Global Studies, Colloquia Commitee, Chair (2007 - 2008)
- American Political Science Association, Member (2006 - 2007)
- World Affairs Council of Arizona, Member (2006 - 2007)
- School of Global Studies Colloquia Committee, Member (2006 - 2007)
- School of Global Studies Library Committee, Member (2006 - 2006)
- The Townsend Working Group on Reconstructing Communities in Crisis, University of California, Berkeley, Co-founder (2001 - 2004)
- Multilateral working group on international criminal law and transitional justice, Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley, Co-founder (1998 - 2000)