Ilana Feldman
Professor, George Washington UniversityIlana Feldman is Professor of Anthropology, History, and International Affairs at George Washington University, USA.
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A joint initiative between the University of Bergen
and CMI – Chr. Michelsen Institute
Chr. Michelsen Lecture: International encounters on Palestinian terrain
12.03.2026
15:00 - 17:30English
The paradox of international humanitarian law, its growing ubiquity alongside its apparent impotence.
CMI In this talk Professor Ilana Feldman examines the paradox of international humanitarian law, and its growing ubiquity alongside its apparent impotence. The promise to protect civilians, regulate the use of force, and enable asylum is increasingly perceived as unfulfilled, particularly in light of the Israeli war on Gaza following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.
Yet Palestine’s role as a critical site for interrogating the operations and implications of international law, institutions, and discourse long predates this conflict.
Drawing on archival and ethnographic research, Professor Feldman explores how Palestine has shaped, and been shaped by, the international. She investigates the foundational terms of these encounters, asking how international actors claim standing and proximity, how complicity might serve as a basis for responsibility, and what forms of resolution emerge from these positions.
The lecture will engage three distinct case studies:
- The International Committee of the Red Cross’s efforts to assert its authority and the force of IHL during the early years of the Israeli occupation (1967–75)
- The World Council of Churches’ evolving stance on Palestine in the 1960s, shifting from aid to advocacy and reinterpreting complicity
- BADIL’s work to educate international advocates, challenging dominant frameworks of standing and responsibility
Read more in this interview with Ilana Feldman
Following the lecture, a panel conversation will address the targeting of civilian populations and infrastructure in conflict, and the possibilities and limitations of peace building interventions. The panel will contribute with reflections from Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Sudan, extending the discussion beyond the Palestinian context.
The event will also include the awarding of the Chr. Michelsen Prize, and conclude with light refreshments and informal mingling in the Bergen Global foyer.
The event is free and open to all.
Please registerEvent info.
Bergen GlobalJekteviksbakken 31, Bergen
12.03.2026
15:00 - 17:30
English
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Lovise Aalen
Research Professor, CMIAalen is a political scientist focusing on democracy, governance and women's employment and empowerment in the Horn of Africa.
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Munzoul Assal
Senior Researcher, CMIMunzoul Assal is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Khartoum and Senior Researcher at CMI.
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Aslak Orre
Senior Researcher, CMIOrre is a political scientist whose competence areas include local government reform, corruption and anti-corruption as well as parties and opposition in Africa.
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Antonio De Lauri
Research Professor, CMIAntono De Lauri is Research Director for the Democracy & Governance and the Climate & Natural Resources research groups.
Read moreIlana Feldman
Professor, George Washington University
Ilana Feldman is Professor of Anthropology, History, and International Affairs at George Washington University, USA.
Professor Feldman is a cultural and historical anthropologist who works in the Middle East. Her research has focused on the Palestinian experience, both inside and outside of historic Palestine, examining practices of government, humanitarianism, policing, displacement, and citizenship.She has conducted ethnographic and archival research in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt.
Lovise Aalen
Research Professor, CMI
Aalen is a political scientist focusing on democracy, governance and women's employment and empowerment in the Horn of Africa.
She has researched Ethiopian politics for the last two decades. She has focused on the implementation of ethnic federalism, the EPRDF’s ideas of revolutionary democracy and the developmental state, regime-youth interactions, and female political participation in authoritarian contexts. She has also written about Chinese support to education and training in Ethiopia.
Munzoul Assal
Senior Researcher, CMI
Munzoul Assal is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Khartoum and Senior Researcher at CMI.
Munzoul Assal holds a PhD in social anthropology from the University of Bergen, Norway. Prior to joining CMI as Senior Researcher he was Professor of social anthropology at the University of Khartoum, Director of the Peace Research Institute, and Dean of Scientific Research.
Aslak Orre
Senior Researcher, CMI
Orre is a political scientist whose competence areas include local government reform, corruption and anti-corruption as well as parties and opposition in Africa.
Orre is educated in political science and social anthropology. His research focus is on Angola and Mozambique for more than two decades, and he has followed political development in Venezuela closely over the last 15 years.
Antonio De Lauri
Research Professor, CMI
Antono De Lauri is Research Director for the Democracy & Governance and the Climate & Natural Resources research groups.
De Lauri is an anthropologist with interest in legal and political anthropology, war, and humanitarianism. He holds a PhD in “Human Sciences: Anthropology of the Contemporary” (2010) from the University of Milan-Bicocca.
Bergen Global is a joint initiative between the University of Bergen and Chr. Michelsen Institute that addresses global challenges.
