In this controversial and wide-ranging article, Ernesto Verdeja argues that the war in Gaza should be understood as a genocide and that it has exposed deeper crises in genocide studies, international law, the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, and the broader global human rights system.
Verdeja’s central argument is that Gaza is not only a humanitarian disaster but a diagnostic event that reveals deep weaknesses across multiple systems simultaneously.
The article argues that Gaza has become a stress test for the modern international system, revealing that many institutions designed to prevent mass atrocities can identify crises and condemn them, but often lack the power, political support, or legitimacy needed to stop them.