درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Economic sanctions have emerged as critical instruments of modern foreign policy, shaping global trade, diplomacy, and power dynamics. Rooted in ancient practice yet evolving in sophistication, sanctions today operate at the intersection of international law, geopolitics, and economic governance. This article addresses a critical gap in existing literature, which often isolates legal, economic, or political dimensions of sanctions, by offering a holistic, interdisciplinary analysis. The main objective is to evaluate how sanctions influence international relations, legal legitimacy, and trade architecture—particularly under unilateral, multilateral, and extraterritorial frameworks. Employing a doctrinal legal research method complemented by case studies of Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba, the study critically assesses sanctions’ legal bases, economic consequences, and geopolitical shifts. Findings reveal that while multilateral sanctions enjoy greater legitimacy, unilateral and extraterritorial measures frequently undermine international norms and inflict humanitarian harm. Sanctions also stimulate realignment toward multipolarity, drive the development of alternative financial systems, and increasingly challenge the coherence of international legal institutions like the WTO. The study concludes that sanctions remain potent yet imperfect tools; their legitimacy and impact depend on adherence to legal principles, proportionality, and ethical considerations in a rapidly evolving global order.

The dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization (WTO) represents one of the most sophisticated legal frameworks for resolving international trade conflicts. Nonetheless, the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO encountered its most severe crisis in 2019 since its inception. Following the unresolved political disagreement by the United States, the Appellate Body, being the first-ever appellate review forum for international trade disputes, ceased to function in December 2019. This article shall comprise a detailed examination of this unprecedented and most severe crisis of the WTO, analysing its historical roots, immediate consequences, and potential pathways for reform. Methodologically, the research combines doctrinal legal analysis with empirical examination of dispute settlement trends since the dysfunction and/or paralysis of the Appellate Body. This study further reviews all 32 cases currently in appellate limbo, analyses the jurisprudence of the MPIA, and assesses the growing trend of forum shopping as members increasingly turn to alternative dispute resolution mechanisms outside the WTO framework. The article concludes by situating the Appellate Body’s crisis within broader debates about the future of multilateralism in an era of geopolitical tensions and economic nationalism. This study further highlights the importance of restoring a functional dispute settlement mechanism not only for the WTO's credibility but for the preservation of a legal framework to govern international trade.

This paper examines the complex legal and ethical dimensions surrounding the 2014 fatwa issued by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urging Iraqi citizens to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This religious edict triggered the formation of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a powerful and controversial coalition of Shia militias. While officially integrated into the Iraqi security forces, the PMF’s actions and loyalties have been subject to ongoing debate, raising questions about their compliance with Iraqi law and international human rights standards. The study analyzes the fatwa's compatibility with international humanitarian law and human rights principles, examining the religious authority's directives on the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war. It traces the legislative process that formally integrated the PMF into the Iraqi armed forces and assesses whether this legal framework adequately addresses the challenges posed by the PMF's diverse composition and history. Furthermore, the paper examines the ongoing role of religious authority in influencing the PMF's conduct and integration into the state’s security apparatus, highlighting the intricate interplay between religious authority, military force, and the rule of law in a conflict-ridden environment. The analysis concludes by offering a nuanced assessment of the legal and ethical implications of the fatwa and the subsequent actions of the PMF, arguing that while isolated incidents of abuse occurred, the religious authority's guidelines actively worked against the establishment of systematic human rights violations.

This paper aims to analyse how the propaganda narrative of ISIS encourages women in Indonesia to commit terrorism. This study contributes to filling gaps in radical movement research by involving gender aspects and narratives in explaining terrorism. This research uses a qualitative method by interviewing former ISIS women to identify how they joined ISIS. Testimonies of former ISIS sympathisers from online media, online magazines, YouTube, and Facebook became secondary sources. The results indicate two aspects. First, Indonesian women are influenced by ISIS through online propaganda on social media. Second, two narrative levels encouraged Indonesian women to join ISIS. The first-level narratives were injustice, unequal law, and infidel governance, which became the initial drivers for women to act terrorism. The second-level narratives were stories about female heroism during the Prophet Muhammad's time that served as reinforcement. To conclude, these findings have implications for the importance of gender-based counter-narratives.