The Genocide Convention and the Cosmopolitan Turn in International Law

Abstract

South Africa v. Israel has drawn international attention as the International Court of Justice considers South Africa’s request to apply the Genocide Convention to the violence in the Gaza Strip. Many observers question how South Africa can claim standing in this case. International law recognizes genocide as a peremptory norm (jus cogens), a classification that significantly shapes how the legal system assigns obligations. Under the erga omnes doctrine, this status allows any state to claim standing when such norms are violated. My research examines how genocide came to occupy this distinct legal space. By analyzing the travaux préparatoires of the 1948 Genocide Convention, I trace how the drafters used human-centered language that shaped subsequent legal developments. My analysis shows that the drafters introduced terms some delegates dismissed as frivolous or immaterial, yet these very words enabled meaningful progress in international law. These developments have empowered cosmopolitan political theorists to advance cosmopolitanism as a serious alternative to realism and liberalism in international political theory.