A Critique of Queer Phenomenology: Gender and the Sexual

This article critiques Sara Ahmed’s queer phenomenology in light of psychoanalytic theory of sexuality. I argue that there is a conspicuous absence of the unconscious, sexuality, and fantasy in Ahmed’s Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others. I turn to the work of Jean Laplanche both to address this absence and to argue for a theory of the formation of sexuality and gender that is not exhausted by the phenomenal world.     

Forced Displacement in Darfur, Sudan: Dilemmas of Classifying the Crimes

The ongoing forced displacement in Darfur has occasioned renewed interest in the phenomena of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Whereas the international response to the conflict has been considered promptly and elaborately by various analysts, few have paid sufficient attention, in the first instance, to the controversy surrounding the debate about the definition of the situation and the classification of crimes involved. Following an overview of the current conflict, the unfolding analysis seeks to show that the terminological debate reveals discrepancies in legal definitions and interpretations that may suggest that existing law may be inadequate to fully capture the nature of the crimes committed in Darfur. Confusion with the terminology has contributed to making the conflict more intractable. In addition, disagreement on a common definition of the situation has tended to justify inaction or limited involvement on the part of the international community. This article suggests that it is therefore necessary to resolve the terminological debate in order to ensure that no energy is wasted in arguing about the indeterminacy of the terms in the future and effective responses to mass violations of human rights are crafted in a timely fashion.