Ralph Janik
LightNews LightNews
banner
ralphjanik.com
Ralph Janik
@ralphjanik.com
14K followers 2.6K following 6.1K posts
| International Law | EU | International Relations
| Assistant Professor @SFU Vienna
| everything is political
Posts Replies Media Videos
ralphjanik.com
In democracies, it works the other way round. But the US is no longer a real democracy.
Homeland Security @DHSgov Reminder: if you lay a finger on a federal officer or agent, you will face the full extent of the law.
January 11, 2026 at 12:33 PM
ralphjanik.com
"The present-day crisis of international law stems from the fact that states, especially the larger ones, do not regard its rules as binding upon them."

Miodrag Sukijasović, American Journal of International Law 1971. Gentle reminder that international law is always in crisis.
A CAUSE OF THE PRESENT CRISIS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW I. International law is at present obviously facing a crisis. With the exception of the diplomatic and consular fields, almost all the rules of public international law have been constantly violated. Particularly subject to violation have been the rules concerning the use of force in international relations. The weak or weakened norms on the prohibition of the threat or use of force are not complied with; their binding force is not established. These phenomena reflect a lamentable truth of our age, that international relations are not governed by international law but by the balance of power. The present-day crisis of international law stems from the fact that states, especially the larger ones, do not regard its rules as binding upon them. They treat the law as recommendations or as non-binding rules of international courtesy or morality. Such an attitude by states toward international law is dictated by many causes, the main one being the priority given to individual political interests. However, one of those causes is also the over-politization of intemational law in terms of denying independent existence to international legal norms
January 11, 2026 at 8:20 AM
ralphjanik.com
"Zur Eskalation [bei der Erschießung einer völlig unschuldigen Frau in Minneapolis; die NZZ nennt es euphemistisch "Tödlicher ICE-Einsatz"] haben beide Lager beigetragen"

Was ist nur aus der NZZ geworden.
January 10, 2026 at 1:21 PM
ralphjanik.com
Natürlich hatte und habe ich – so wie jeder Völkerrechtler und vermutlich so ziemlich jeder, der Völkerrecht bemüht – ein Problem damit, wenn das venezolanische Volk seit Ewigkeiten unterdrückt wird. Wieso muss man sich sowas vorwerfen lassen? Wieso solche Unterstellungen?
Franz Schellhorn @FranzSchellhorn Alle, die heute das Völkerrecht bemühen, hatten keinerlei Probleme damit, dass das venezolanische Volk seit 1999 systematisch aller Rechte beraubt wurde. Es durfte nach Belieben eingesperrt, gefoltert, beraubt, ausgehungert und ermordet werden. #Servicetweet #Maduro #Venezuela
January 9, 2026 at 10:44 AM
ralphjanik.com
Kurz checkt einfach nicht dass er der Revolution im Iran schadet, wenn er laut trommelt, dass sie von einem amerikanisch-israelischen Investor unterstützt wird. Oder es ist ihm egal, weil er sie für Eigenwerbung instrumentalisieren will.
Sebastian Kurz @sebastiankurz · 3 Std. Days after dictator Maduro was removed in Venezuela, we are witnessing how brave Iranians are taking the streets to fight for an end of the terrorist Mullah regime in Iran. With protests now all across the country, the Ayatollahs are increasingly desperate. Their response: a nationwide internet blackout to silence dissent. I’m proud that my friend and partner Dovi Frances was instrumental in enabling free Starlink access for the Iranian opposition. This is proof that technology is more than just a gimmick - in the right hands, it can shift the balance of power and deliver positive change for millions of people.
January 9, 2026 at 10:20 AM
ralphjanik.com
This man is a Democrat. He even used to be a hope for the Dems. Turns out the lust for imperialism goes far beyond Trump and his gang.
U.S. Senator John Fetterman @SenFettermanPA I believe Greenland has massive strategic benefits for the United States. I do not support taking it by force. America is not a bully. Ideally, we purchase it—similar to our purchases of Alaska or the Louisiana Purchase. Acquiring Greenland is a many decades old conversation.
January 8, 2026 at 8:08 AM
ralphjanik.com
everything that needs to be said about Mearsheimer predictions 👇

x.com/Yair_Rosenbe...
January 7, 2026 at 5:17 PM
ralphjanik.com
TIL dass unser Kriegsmaterialgesetz verabschiedet wurde, weil Österreich Waffen nach Katar exportieren wollte, obwohl es sich im Kriegszustand mit Israel befand (aus Zemanek, Immerwährende Neutralität in der österreichischen Staatenpraxis). Wie heute: Geld schlägt Neutralität
January 7, 2026 at 2:38 PM
ralphjanik.com
Die AfD geilt sich ein wenig zu sehr an der alten (Nazi-)Großraumtheorie auf für meinen Geschmack... (via @polenz.bsky.social)
January 7, 2026 at 12:51 PM
ralphjanik.com
ich war so blöd, zu antworten
January 6, 2026 at 3:34 PM
ralphjanik.com
Und manchmal sliden einem nachts auch irgendwelche Dudes in die DMs
January 6, 2026 at 11:41 AM
ralphjanik.com
Monroe doctrine, Panama invasion, war on drugs, you name it: Trump's obsession with the past won't lead into a bright future.
Article by Antony D'Amato on the 1989 Panama invasion: "What Professors Tom Farer and Ved Nanda do not seem to understand is the positive implication for the development of human rights resulting from the United States intervention in Panama.' Their views are so conditioned by a statist conception of international law that they seem unable to see through the abstraction that we call the "state"2 to the reality of human beings struggling to achieve basic freedoms. I am not talking about the human rights of American "matrons domiciled in Panama," as Professor Farer puts it, who were "rescued" in 19th-century expeditionary-force style.3 Rather, I am talking about the human rights of Panamanian citizens to be free from oppression by a gang of ruling thugs. My focus is on the basic civil liberties and fundamental freedoms of the people of Panama themselves.
January 6, 2026 at 1:16 AM
ralphjanik.com
trending on German-speaking Twitter: "Violation of International Law"
January 3, 2026 at 10:02 PM
ralphjanik.com
Article 2(4) UN Charter is an “idiot rule”, as Thomas M. Franck once put it: even an idiot can understand it.
Similarly ambiguous reactions occur when states find their conduct purportedly regulated by an international version of the idiot rule which makes no why or to whom allowances under circumstances in which, if the rule were to be followed "to the letter," it would conflict with the popular notion of fairness and common sense. For example, the U.N. Charter, in articles 2(4) and 51, sets out an idiot rule pertaining to the use of force. It says, in substance, that states may not initiate the use of armed force against another state. They must exercise restraint, responding only after an actual armed attack on them. This rule, on its face, seems to enjoy a high level of determinacy. And in most instances of conflict, the rule also makes sense.
January 3, 2026 at 9:06 PM
ralphjanik.com
It’s not overly complex Mr Merz: You can’t kidnap a foreign leader just because you don’t like him. Article 2/4 UN Charter protects all states and thus their governments, even if they’re led by assholes.
Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz v @bundeskanzler X.com © Show translation Nicolás Maduro hat sein Land ins Verderben geführt. Die letzte Wahl wurde gefälscht. Die Präsidentschaft haben wir - wie viele andere Staaten auf der Welt - daher nicht anerkannt. Maduro spielte in der Region eine problematische Rolle. 19:51 • 3.1.2026 • 294K Views 1,1K L 510 2,9K 193 Relevant v View quotes > Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz • 1h O ... Die rechtliche Einordnung des US-Einsatzes ist komplex. Dazu nehmen wir uns Zeit. Maßstab bleibt das Völkerrecht. Jetzt darf in Venezuela keine politische Instabilität entstehen. Ziel sollte ein geordneter Übergang hin zu einer durch Wahlen legitimierten Regierung sein.
January 3, 2026 at 8:53 PM
ralphjanik.com
All this violence – against Ukrainians and against Russians themselves – for nothing. Nothing.
The Kremlin relies on such soldiers to avoid a broader draft that could generate opposition to the war. Allegations of a vast array of abuses are laid out in the documents: Soldiers are sent to the front despite debilitating medical conditions like broken limbs, Stage 4 cancer, epilepsy, severely damaged vision and hearing, head trauma, schizophrenia and stroke complications. Released prisoners of war are deployed directly back to active combat. Russian commanders threaten their own soldiers with death so often that the killings have their own name — “zeroing out.” Some commanders extort or steal from their soldiers, including by collecting money to exempt troops from deadly missions. Soldiers who complain, object to doomed missions or refuse to pay bribes can be beaten, locked in basements, stuffed in pits or tied to trees. Recruits brought in through a draft or mandatory military service are pressured to sign extended contracts and threatened with transfers to assault units with high mortality rates if they refuse.
January 2, 2026 at 6:01 PM
ralphjanik.com
Witkoff posted "Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine" six days ago.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff @SEPeaceMissions X.com Over the last two days in Florida, the Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev held productive and constructive meetings with the American delegation to advance President Trump's peace plan on Ukraine. The American delegation included Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and White House staff member Josh Gruenbaum. Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine. Russia highly values the efforts and support of the United States to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and re-establish global security. 5:00 PM 12/21/25 1M Views
December 27, 2025 at 11:14 AM
ralphjanik.com
Ukraine "is not a nation built in a natural manner, It's an artificial country created back in Soviet times."

Vladimir Putin back in 2001 (!)
President Putin: Okay. Now I'd like to repeat what I said to Condi and Gates in Moscow on NATO enlargement. It won't be new to you, and I don't expect a response; I just want to say it out loud. I'd like to emphasize accession to NATO of a country like Ukraine will create for the long-term a field of conflict for you and us, long-term confrontation. The President: Why? (U) President Putin: that's Seventeen million Russians live in Ukraine a third of the population. Ukraine is a very complex state. This is not a nation built in a natural manner. It's an artificial country created back in Soviet times. Following World War II Ukraine obtained territory from Poland, Romania and Hungary - that's pretty much all of western Ukraine. In the 1920s and 1930s Ukraine obtained territory from Russia the eastern part of the country. In 1956, the Crimean peninsula was transferred to Ukraine. It's a rather large European country built with a population of 45 million. It's populated by people with very different mindsets. If you go to western Ukraine you'll see villages where the only spoken language is Hungarian and people wear those bonnets. In the east, people are wearing suits, ties and big hats. NATO is perceived by a large part of the Ukrainian population as a hostile organization.() This creates the following problems for Russia. This creates the threat of military bases and new military systems being deployed in the proximity of Russia. It created uncertainties and threats for us. And relying on the anti-NATO forces in Ukraine, Russia would be working on stripping NATO of the possibility of enlarging. Russia would be creating problems there all the time. What for? What is the meaning of Ukrainian membership in NATO? What benefit is there for NATO and the U.S.? There can be only one reason for it and that would be to cement Ukraine's status as in the Western world and that would be the logic. I don't think it's the right logic; I'm trying to comprehend...
December 27, 2025 at 10:06 AM
ralphjanik.com
Sorry to say: Hans-Werner Sinn hat keine Ahnung. Es ist traurig, wie sich renommierte Namen bei Russlands Krieg lächerlich machen. Weil sie sich zu Themen äußern, von denen sie keine Ahnung haben. Da frage ich mich, ob man die Sachen ernst nehmen kann, bei denen sie sich auskennen (sollten).
Talk im Hangar-7 @talkimhangar7 „Putin hätte Deals zugestimmt, die hundertmal besser gewesen wären als alles, was heute möglich ist.“ Top-Ökonom @HansWernerSinn über verpasste Chancen des Westens bei @mfleischhacker1 in: "Europa am Abgrund: Hilft nur mehr ein Wunder?"
December 22, 2025 at 9:38 AM
ralphjanik.com
The Russian regime is happy that the EU keeps its money safe. We're weak. Fucking weak. While they destroy another country, they ask us to abstain from "illegal moves". And, guess what, we did. Ridiculous.
Kirill Dmitriev @kadmitriev 🌩️Fatal blow to Ursula, Merz, Starmer & the warmongers: they burned political capital pushing illegal moves against Russia’s reserves—and FAILED. “There’s no alternative,” they said. Apparently there is. The whole world just watched you fail to bully others into breaking the law
December 20, 2025 at 2:06 PM
ralphjanik.com
Gibt es wirklich keine Möglichkeit, einen Absender komplett zu sperren? Alle Mails automatisch löschen reicht mit nicht. Bei Messengern kann man ja auch blockieren.
December 18, 2025 at 1:16 PM
ralphjanik.com
Kurz nachdem @varwick.bsky.social bei dieser Diskussionsveranstaltung in Graz gegen "aktivistische" Wissenschaft ausgeritten ist, schreibt er mit dem Chef des Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (oder wie auch immer die jetzt heißen) einen aktivistischen Gastbeitrag.
Anti-Aktivisten sind auch Aktivisten.
Johannes Varwick @JohannesVarwick · 3 Std. Gemeinsam mit @FabioDeMasi schreibe ich bei @focusonline , warum wir dafür sind, das Ukraine-Desaster aufzuarbeiten. Der insbesondere von den Grünen und Teilen des sozialdemokratischen, konservativen und liberalen Establishments vertretene Mainstream hat sowohl für die Ukraine als auch die EU verheerende Ergebnisse gebracht.
December 16, 2025 at 10:10 PM
ralphjanik.com
that didn't age w... (3.2 million followers btw)
Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec You won’t see people on the right celebrating the horrific murder of Rob Reiner and his wife Compare to the Left’s reaction to Charlie Kirk’s murder
December 15, 2025 at 5:21 PM
ralphjanik.com
The Guardian asked important opposition figures in authoritarian states what they should have known earlier. This warning should be taken seriously in Europe. VERY seriously. Less panels, more real engagement.
Ece Temelkuran Turkey Temelkuran says a successful opposition movement in the US would need to bring this same level of energy to the fight. Many people, especially in America and in Europe, are organizing these fancy panels that normal people never go to. They're building these NGOs that people are not interested in. The only option is to propose real change... and be absolutely courageous about it. a
December 15, 2025 at 3:52 PM
ralphjanik.com
such a sick, sick world we live in.
A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS. He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!
December 15, 2025 at 3:41 PM