Lara J. Nettelfield
Lara J. Nettelfield is an Assistant Professor of International Studies at Simon Fraser University. Before joining Simon Fraser, she was an Adjunct Lecturer at Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs. A political scientist by training, she recently completed a manuscript titled Courting Democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Hague Tribunal’s Impact in a Postwar State (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010). This volume argues that the underappreciated court has in fact made a substantial contribution to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s transition to democracy. Based on over three years of field research and several hundred interviews, this study brings together multiple research methods, including surveys, ethnography, and archival materials, to show the court’s impact on five segments of Bosnian society, emphasizing the role of the social setting in translating international law in domestic contexts. It argues that much of the early rhetoric about the transformative potential of international criminal law helped foster unrealistic expectations that institutions like the ICTY could not meet, but judged by more realistic standards, international law is seen to play a modest yet important role in postwar transitions. The findings of this study have implications for the study of international courts around the world and the role law plays in contributing to social change.
She is also working on a co-authored manuscript about the aftermath of the Srebrenica genocide. Her research interests include transitional justice, human rights, forced migration, democratic transitions, and international intervention. Organizations such at the German Marshall Fund, Fulbright Hays, IREX, the Social Science Research Council, and American Councils (ACTR/ ACCELS) have funded her research. She was recently awarded a post-doctoral fellowship at the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI) and is on leave for the 2009-10 academic year.
Lara J. Nettelfield completed her Bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley and received M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University. She also completed a certificate in regional studies at Columbia’s Harriman Institute. She has worked for international organizations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and has served as an advisor for non-governmental organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She has lived, worked, and researched in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Ukraine, France, Belgium, and Spain.
Selected Publications
Books
Cambridge Studies in Law and Society:
Courting Democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Hague Tribunal’s Impact in a Postwar State. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
“Srebrenica: After the Genocide”, forthcoming manuscript. (Co-authored with Sarah E. Wagner)
Book Chapters
“Research and Repercussions: The Case of the Bosnian Book of the Dead," in Peter Andreas and Kelly M. Greenhill, eds., Sex, Drugs, and Body Counts: The Politics of Numbers in Global Crime and Conflict (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2010).
Journal Articles
“From the Battlefield to the Barracks: The Interrnational Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Bosnian Armed Forces (AFBiH),” International Journal of Transitional Justice, 2010.
Book Reviews
“Interview: Patrick Ball.“ Dani Magazine (Sarajevo), July 2007. (In Bosnian.)
“Bosnia’s Muslims Still Cry Out for Justice.” Co-authored with Sarah Wagner. Opinion Editorial. The Globe and Mail, July 12, 2005.
“Ten Years After the Genocide: Justice’s Slow Course in Bosnia-Herzegovina.” Co-authored with Sarah Wagner. Opinion Editorial. Vancouver Sun, July 11, 2005.
“For the Bosniaks, the US Ideal is in Ruins.” Co-authored with Sarah Wagner. Opinion Editorial. Los Angeles Times, September 19, 2004.
Interview with Mirsad Tokaca, Director of the State War Crimes Commission of Bosnia-Herzegovina. January 2004. Social Science Research Council Global Security and Cooperation Quarterly.
SIS in the News
Ian Mulgrew. “Dallire still waging war against genocide.” Vancouver Sun, November 20, 2007.
Courses
IS302: Introduction to Humanitarian Intervention and Assistance
IS311: Democratic Transition in Comparative Perspective
Important SFU Links
Nora and Ted Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy
Books you should know about
Click on images for more information.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |