Professor Chandra Lekha Sriram
BA, MA (University of Chicago), JD (University of California, Berkeley; Member of the State Bar of California-inactive status), PhD (Princeton University)
Overview
School of Law
Professor in Law
Centre of South Asian Studies
Member
Centre for Law and Conflict
Member
Centre for the International Politics of Conflict, Rights and Justice
Member
Centre for Gender Studies
Member
- Name:
- Professor Chandra Lekha Sriram
- Email address:
- cs79@soas.ac.uk
- Telephone:
- 0207 898 4540
- Address:
- SOAS, University of London
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG - Building:
- Russell Square: College Buildings
- Office No:
- 541
- Office Hours:
- Monday 15.00 to 17.00pm
- Curriculum Vitae:
- Chandra Sriram's CV (pdf; 366kb)
Biography
Chandra Lekha Sriram is Professor in Law. Her areas of teaching expertise include war and human rights, public international law, international criminal law, human rights, and conflict prevention and post-conflict peacebuilding. Professor Sriram received her PhD in Politics from Princeton University in 2000, her JD from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1994, and her MA in International Relations and BA in Political Science from the University of Chicago in 1991.
She is author and editor of various books and journal articles on international relations, international law, human rights and conflict prevention and peacebuilding. She is the author of three monographs: Peace as governance: power-sharing, armed groups, and contemporary peace negotiations (Palgrave 2008); Globalizing justice for mass atrocities: A revolution in accountability (Routledge 2005); and Confronting past human rights violations: Justice versus peace in times of transition (Frank Cass 2004). In 2010, the book she co-edited with Suren Pillay, Peace versus justice? The dilemma of transitional justice in Africa, (Durban: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2009 and Oxford: James Currey, 2010) won an Outstanding Academic Title award from Choice, of the American Librarian Association.
Professor Sriram is currently the Principal Investigator of a project, entitled “Transitional justice as peacebuilding?” funded by the United States Institute of Peace (www.usip.org/.../annual-grant-awards#S), collaborating with colleagues at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights and in the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict. She is a co-researcher on a grant led by Professor Stephen Brown of the University of Ottawa on accountability for post-election violence in Kenya, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
She was previously founder and director of the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict at the University of East London, an interdisciplinary centre promoting policy-relevant research and events aimed at developing greater knowledge about the relationship between human rights and conflict, and is now chair of the centre's international advisory group. (See Centre on Human Rights in Conflict www.uel.ac.uk/chrc). As director of the Centre, she won research funds from the British Academy for a collaborative research project on "The Rule of Law in African Countries Emerging from Armed Conflict: Critical Issues and Cases," and from the European Union's VII Framework Programme, as part of a consortium led by the University of Lund, on "Building a just and durable peace by piece", and from the United States Institute of Peace, for the “Transitional justice as peacebuilding?” project.
Professor Sriram is co-chair of the London Transitional Network (www.londontjnetwork.org). From 2008 to 2010, she was Chair of the International Studies Association Human Rights Section. She is on the UN Development Programme’s expert roster as a human rights expert, a member of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Peer Reviewer College, a member of the advisory board of Palgrave/MacMillan publishers’ Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies book series, and from 2006-2010 she was a member of the advisory board of the Review of International Studies. She is a member of the board of trustees of the international NGO Conciliation Resources (www.c-r.org). She has also engaged in consultancies for the United Nations Development Programme, Crisis Management Initiative (Finland), the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (Switzerland), and Human Rights Internet (Canada).
Professor Sriram is an Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Political Science at University College London from 2011-2014. During the fall term, 2010, she was a visiting scholar at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University. During the fall term, 2005, she was a visiting associate professor of law at the University of Maryland School of Law. From 2003-05 she was lecturer in the School of International Relations at the University of St. Andrews. Prior to that she was Senior Associate at the International Peace Academy (IPA, now International Peace Institute, www.ipinst.org) in New York, directing IPA's conflict prevention project, From Promise to Practice: Strengthening UN Capacities for the Prevention of Violent Conflict, supported by six European governments’ development agencies or foreign ministries. (See CV for more information)
Media
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbrqDFNEgNM
8 July 2007, interviewed for 'Combater o terror X cercear direitos' (Fighting terror by curtailing rights), O Tempo (Brazil)
29 January 2007, radio appearance, BBC’s The World Tonight Show, on China and Sudan, at http://www.uel.ac.uk/chrc/#e.
Teaching
Courses Taught
- International Criminal Law in Practice
- International criminal law in context
- International law and international relations
- Transitional Justice in Asia
PhD Students supervised
- Antonia Mulvey, International Justice: Solution or Obstacles to Peace in Housing, Land and Property Conflicts
- Demetra Loizou, The impact by the International Criminal Court's establishment on the further and future development of crimes within the court's jurisdiction and those left outside.
- Julie Broome, The impact of international and domestic prosecutions in post-conflict or post-authoritarian countries on the establishment of the rule of law
- Laila Fathi, Re-thinking transitional justice in a post-colonial context - analysis of the Franco-Algerian war and the reconciliation process (working title)
PhD Research Methods in Law
Contributes to the teaching on the PhD Research Methods in Law.
External PhD students supervised
- Noha Aboueldahab (UCL) The International Criminal Court and the crime of aggression
Professor Sriram is not currently considering any new PhD applications.
Research
Her areas of expertise include:-
- International human rights and humanitarian law,
- International criminal accountability,
- Transitional justice,
- Conflict prevention, resolution, and post-conflict peacebuilding
Publications
Authored Books
Sriram, Chandra and Martin-Ortega , Olga and Herman, Johanna (2009) War, Conflict, and Human Rights. London: Routledge.
Sriram, Chandra (2008) Peace as Governance: Power-sharing, Armed Groups, and Contemporary Peace Negotiations. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
Sriram, Chandra (2005) Globalizing Justice for Mass Atrocities: A Revolution in Accountability. New York: Routledge.
Sriram, Chandra (2004) Confronting Past Human Rights Violations: Justice vs. Peace in Times of Transition. London: Frank Cass.
Edited Books
Sriram, Chandra Lekha and Garcia-Godos, Jemima, eds. (2012) Transitional justice and peacebuilding on the ground. Routledge.
Sriram, Chandra Lekha and Martin-Ortega, Olga and Herman, Johanna, eds. (2011) Peacebuilding and rule of law in Africa: Just peace? London: Routledge.
Sriram, Chandra and King, John C. and Mertus, Julie A. and Martin-Ortega, Olga and Herman, Johanna, eds. (2009) Surviving Field Research: Working in Violent and Difficult Situations. London; New York: Routledge.
Sriram, Chandra and Pillay , Suren, eds. (2009) Peace versus Justice? the dilemma of transitional justice in Africa. Scottsville, South Africa: University of KwaZulu Natal Press.
Sriram, Chandra and Biersteker, Tom and Spiro, Peter and Raffo, Veronica, eds. (2006) International Law and International Relations: Bridging Theory and Practice. London: Routledge.
Sriram, Chandra and Nielsen, Zoe, eds. (2004) Subregional Causes of Conflict: Opportunities for Conflict Prevention. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner.
Sriram, Chandra and Wermester, Karin, eds. (2003) From Promise to Practice: Strengthening UN Capacities for the Prevention of Violent Conflict. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner.
Sriram, Chandra and Roth, Brad, eds. (2002) A Special Symposium in the Finnish Yearbook of International Law on Contemporary Developments in International Criminal Law. The Hague; London; Boston: M. Nijhoff.
Sriram, Chandra and Adebajo, Adekeye, eds. (2001) Managing Armed Conflicts in the 21st Century. London: Frank Cass.
Book Chapters
Sriram, Chandra Lekha (2011) 'Post-conflict justice and hybridity in peacebuilding: Resistance or cooptation?' In: Mitchell, Audra and Richmond, Oliver P, (eds.), Hybrid forms of peace: From everyday agency to post-liberalism. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Adamson, Fiona and Sriram, Chandra (2010) 'Perspectives on International Law in International Relations.' In: Cali, Basak, (ed.), International Law for International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 25-45.
Sriram, Chandra and Mills, Kurt (2010) 'Human Rights.' In: Denemark, Robert, (ed.), The International Studies Encyclopedia. Wiley-Blackwell.
Sriram, Chandra and Herman, Johanna and Martin-Ortega , Olga (2010) 'War, Conflict, and Human Rights.' In: Denemark, Robert, (ed.), The ISA Compendium Project. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Sriram, Chandra and Adamson, Fiona B (2010) 'Perspectives on International Law in International Relations.' In: Cali, Basak, (ed.), International Law for International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sriram, Chandra (2009) 'Conflict Mediation and the ICC: Challenges and Options for Pursuing Peace with Justice at the Regional Level.' In: Ambos, Kai and Large, Judith and Wierda, Marieke, (eds.), Building a Future on Peace and Justice. Berlin: Springer Verlag.
Sriram, Chandra (2009) 'The ICC Africa Experiment: The Central African Republic, Darfur, Northern Uganda, and the DRC.' In: Sriram, Chandra and Pillay, Suren, (eds.), Peace vs. Justice? Truth and Reconciliation Processes and War Crimes Tribunals in Africa. Durban: University of KwaZulu Natal Press.
Sriram, Chandra (2009) 'Transitional Justice and the Liberal Peace.' In: Newman, Edward and Richmond, Oliver and Paris, Roland, (eds.), New Perspectives on Liberal Peacebuilding. New York: United Nations University Press.
Sriram, Chandra (2009) 'Resolving Conflicts and Pursuing Accountability: Beyond ‘Justice vs. Peace’.' In: Richmond, Oliver, (ed.), Critical Advances in Peacebuilding. London: Palgrave.
Sriram, Chandra (2009) 'What can Restorative Justice Contribute? Lessons from beyond the Balkans.' In: Kostovicova, Denisa, (ed.), Evropska unija I tranziciona Pravda: Od retributivne do restorativne pravde na Zapadom Balkanu. Belgrade: Humanitarian Law Centre.
Sriram, Chandra (2009) '“Sri Lanka” and “Central America”.' In: Forsythe, David, (ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sriram, Chandra and Brown, Stephen (2008) 'China’s Role in Human Rights abuses in Africa: Clarifying Issues of Culpability.' In: Rotberg, Robert, (ed.), China into Africa: trade, aid, and influence. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
Sriram, Chandra (2008) 'Prevention and the Rule of Law: Rhetoric and Reality.' In: Hurwitz, Agnès and Huang, Reyko, (eds.), Civil War and the Rule of Law: Security, Development, Human Rights. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc..
Sriram, Chandra (2007) 'Justice for Whom? Assessing Hybrid Approaches to Accountability in Sierra Leone.' In: Ndulo, Muna, (ed.), Security, Reconciliation, and Reconstruction: When the Wars End. London: Routledge.
Sriram, Chandra and Mahmoud, Youssef (2006) 'Bringing Security Back in: IR Theory and Moving Beyond the “Justice vs. Peace” Debate in International and Transitional Justice.' In: Sriram, Chandra and Biersteker, Thomas J. and Spiro, Peter J. and Raffo, Veronica I., (eds.), International Law and International Relations: Bridging Theory and Practice. Routledge.
Articles
Ross, Amy and Sriram, Chandra Lekha (2012) 'Closing impunity gaps: Regional transitional justice processes?' Transitional Justice Review, 1 (1). pp. 3-30.
Brown, Stephen and Sriram, Chandra Lekha (2012) 'The big fish won't fry themselves: Criminal accountability for post-election violence in Kenya.' African Affairs, 111 (443). pp. 1-17.
Sriram, Chandra Lekha and Brown, Stephen (2012) 'Kenya in the shadow of the ICC: Complementarity, gravity, and impact.' International Criminal Law Review, 12 (2). pp. 219-244.
Sriram, Chandra Lekha and Martin-Ortega, Olga and Herman, Johanna (2011) 'Justice delayed? Internationalized criminal tribunals and peacebuilding in Lebanon, Bosnia and Cambodia.' Conflict, Security and Development, 11 (3). pp. 335-356.
Sriram, Chandra Lekha and Vandeginste, Stef (2011) 'Power-sharing and transitional justice: A clash of paradigms?' Global Governance, 17 (4). pp. 489-505.
Sriram, Chandra and Zahar, Marie-Jöelle (2009) 'The Perils of Power-Sharing: Africa and Beyond.' Africa Spectrum, 44 (3). pp. 11-39.
Sriram, Chandra and Herman, Johanna (2009) 'DDR and Transitional Justice: Bridging the Divide?' Conflict, Security and Development, 9 (4). pp. 455-474.
Sriram, Chandra (2007) 'Justice as Peace? Liberal Peacebuilding and Strategies of Transitional Justice.' Global Society: Journal of Interdisciplinary International Relations, 21 (4). pp. 579-591.
Sriram, Chandra and Ross, Amy (2007) 'Geographies of crime and justice: Contemporary Transitional Justice and the Creation of ‘Zones of Impunity'.' International Journal of Transitional Justice, 1 (1). pp. 45-65.
Sriram, Chandra (2006) 'Sri Lanka after the Tsunami: Opportunities Lost?' Law and Society Trust Review, 17 (230). pp. 1-22.
Sriram, Chandra (2006) 'International Law, International Relations Theory, and Post-Atrocity Justice: Towards a Genuine Dialogue.' International Affairs, 82 (3). pp. 467-478.
Sriram, Chandra (2006) 'Human Rights Claims vs. The State: Is Sovereignty Really Eroding?' Interdisciplinary Journal of Human Rights Law, 1 (1). pp. 107-120.
Sriram, Chandra (2006) 'Wrong-sizing International Justice? The Hybrid Tribunal in Sierra Leone.' Fordham International Law Journal, 29 (3). pp. 472-506.
Sriram, Chandra (2004) 'Globalizing justice: From Universal Jurisdiction to Mixed Tribunals.' Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, 22 (1).
Sriram, Chandra (2004) 'Revolutions in Accountability: New Approaches to Past Abuses.' American University International Law Review, 19 (2).
Sriram, Chandra (2002) 'Dilemmas of Accountability: Politics, the Military and Commissions of Inquiry in an Ongoing Civil War: The Case of Sri Lanka.' Civil Wars, 5 (2). pp. 96-121.
Sriram, Chandra (2002) 'Exercising Universal Jurisdiction: Contemporary Disparate Practice.' International Journal of Human Rights, 6 (4). pp. 49-76.
Sriram, Chandra (2001) 'Externalizing Justice through Universal Jurisdiction—Problems and Prospects.' Finnish Yearbook of International Law, 12 . pp. 53-77.
Sriram, Chandra and Roth, Brad (2001) 'Externalization of Justice: What Does it Mean and What is at Stake?' Finnish Yearbook of International Law, 12 . pp. 2-6.
Sriram, Chandra (2000) 'Truth Commissions and Political Theory: Tough Moral Choices in Transitional Situations.' Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, 18 (4). pp. 471-492.
Sriram, Chandra (2000) 'Truth Commissions and the Quest for Justice: Stability and Accountability After Internal Strife.' International Peacekeeping, 7 (4). pp. 91-106.
Book Reviews
Sriram, Chandra (2010) 'Review of 'The Gender of Reparations'.' European Journal of International Law, 21 (2). pp. 490-492.
Sriram, Chandra (2008) 'Review of 'Judges, Transition, and Human Rights' by John Morison, Kieran McEvoy, and Gordon Anthony.' Leiden Journal of International Law, 21 (4). pp. 1005-1009.
Sriram, Chandra (2005) 'Transitional Justice Comes of Age: Enduring Lessons and Challenges.' Berkeley Journal of International Law, 23 (2). pp. 101-118.
Other
Sriram, Chandra Lekha (2012) 'ICJ and Habre: A possible end to a long road to accountability.' The Jurist .
Sriram, Chandra Lekha (2012) 'The Special Tribunal for Lebanon.' In: Reconciliation, Reform and Resilience: Positive Peace for Lebanon. Accord, 24 . London: Conciliation Resources.
Sriram, Chandra Lekha (2010) 'Comment: Justice vs peace or restorative vs retributive justice: The cases of Kenya and Sudan.' Peace Forum for Peacebuilding Ethics .
Sriram, Chandra Lekha (2010) 'State aggression is finally a crime: But How is it Punished?' The Guardian Comment is Free .
Sriram, Chandra Lekha (2010) 'ICC Hypocrisy over war crimes.' The Guardian Comment is Free .
Sriram, Chandra Lekha (2010) 'The ICC review conference: The forgotten issues.' The Jurist .
Mills, Kurt and Sriram, Chandra Lekha, eds. (2010) 'Human Rights (Section Entries for International Studies Association compendium).' In: International Studies Association Compendium. Wiley-Blackwell.
Sriram, Chandra (2009) 'Looking Forward, Backward, or Just Away?' Human Rights and Human Welfare Roundtable .
Sriram, Chandra (2009) 'The Prosecutor of the ICC: Too Political, Not Political Enough, or Both?' Human Rights and Human Welfare Roundtable .
Sriram, Chandra (2009) 'A Curse not Limited to Cambodia.' Human Rights and Human Welfare Roundtable .
Sriram, Chandra and Brown , Stephen and Zahar, Marie-Joelle (2008) 'For Zimbabwe, Talking Is No Cure.' The Guardian .
Sriram, Chandra and Zahar, Marie-Joelle (2007) 'A Dangerous Step.' The Guardian .
Sriram, Chandra (2007) 'China, Human Rights and the Sudan.' JURIST-Legal News and Research .
Sriram, Chandra and Ross, Amy (2006) 'Catch-22 in Uganda: The LRA, the ICC, and the Peace Process.' JURIST: Legal News & Research .
Sriram, Chandra (2006) 'Trying Habre in Senegal: An African Solution to an African Problem?' JURIST: Legal News and Research .
Sriram, Chandra (2006) 'Bad Politics, Worse Law: Re-writing the UK Human Rights Act.' JURIST: Legal News and Research .
Sriram, Chandra (2006) 'Trying Charles Taylor: Justice Here, There, Anywhere?' JURIST: Legal News and Research .
Sriram, Chandra (2006) 'The UN Human Rights Council: Another Missed Opportunity.' JURIST: Legal News and Research .
Sriram, Chandra (2005) 'Exporting Torture: US Rendition and European Outrage.' JURIST: Legal News and Research .
