Steve Crawshaw

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 MOORE PRIZE IN HUMAN RIGHTS WRITING'Prosecuting The Powerful isn't just compelling and very moving, it has all the force of a well-crafted thriller. I literally couldn't stop reading it,' John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor'A compelling account of a revolutionary moment in history,' Philippe Sands, The Spectator 'Powerful, timely and moving,' Baroness Helena Kennedy KC'A tour de force,' Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News'Absolutely brilliant,' Nick CohenCould we ever see Vladimir Putin in the dock for his crimes? What about a Western ally like Benjamin Netanyahu? Putting a country's leader on trial once seemed unimaginable. But as Steve Crawshaw describes in Prosecuting the Powerful - a blend of powerful eyewitness reporting and gripping history - the possibilities of justice have been transformed. Crawshaw includes recent stories from the front lines of justice in Ukraine, Israel/Palestine and at The Hague, as well as his earlier encounters with war criminals like Slobodan Miloševic. He tells the stories of those who have demanded protection for civilians and accountability for war criminals - from the Geneva Conventions to the Syrian police photographer who helped put one of Bashar al-Assad's torturers behind bars. He also follows the extraordinary unfolding story of two of the world's most powerful and well-connected leaders currently under indictment at the International Criminal Court in The Hague: Putin and Netanyahu. For all the current darkness, this is a historic opportunity. The scales of justice can and must be balanced. Now is the moment.

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 MOORE PRIZE IN HUMAN RIGHTS WRITING'Prosecuting The Powerful isn't just compelling and very moving, it has all the force of a well-crafted thriller. I literally couldn't stop reading it,' John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor'A compelling account of a revolutionary moment in history,' Philippe Sands, The Spectator 'Powerful, timely and moving,' Baroness Helena Kennedy KC'A tour de force,' Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News'Absolutely brilliant,' Nick CohenGuardian Book of the DayCould we ever see Vladimir Putin in the dock for his crimes? What about a Western ally like Benjamin Netanyahu? Putting a country's leader on trial once seemed unimaginable. But as Steve Crawshaw describes in Prosecuting the Powerful - a blend of powerful eyewitness reporting and gripping history - the possibilities of justice have been transformed. Crawshaw includes recent stories from the front lines of justice in Ukraine, Israel/Palestine and at The Hague, as well as his earlier encounters with war criminals like Slobodan Miloševic. He tells the stories of those who have demanded protection for civilians and accountability for war criminals - from the Swiss businessman who is the reason why we have the Geneva Conventions today and the prosecutors at Nuremberg to the Syrian police photographer who helped put one of Bashar al-Assad's torturers behind bars. He also follows the extraordinary unfolding story of two of the world's most powerful and well-connected leaders currently under indictment at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. From Gaza to Bucha and beyond, survivors seek justice for the crimes committed against them. But for that to happen, governments must finally abandon their double standards and have the courage to support prosecutions of those who commit atrocities, whether opponents or allies. For all the current darkness, this is a historic opportunity. The scales of justice can and must be balanced. Now is the moment.

Store forandringer begynder ofte med små handlinger, der i situationen kan synes udsigtsløse. Fordi det er en kamp mod overmagten, mod alle odds. “I den virkelige verden vil det aldrig ske,” lyder det fra skeptikere. Men som denne bog viser, har skeptikerne gentagne gange taget fejl. De 80 beretninger i ”Det stille oprør” vidner om, hvor stor en rolle almindelige mennesker har spillet i at fremkalde enestående forandringer. Det er historier om stille modstand, om modig trods, om udspekuleret ulydighed, samlet ind fra hele verden, fra Serbien til Sudan, fra Afghanistan til Zimbabwe. Mange af beretningerne er ikke så kendte eller næsten glemt – nogle fornøjelige, andre forbløffende, de fleste inspirerende. Bogen hylder de mange mennesker, som gennem historien har rejst sig og kæmpet mod undertrykkelse, ofte med fare for deres eget liv. Og som på den måde har gjort verden til et bedre sted at leve.” Det stille oprør” indeholder blandt andet historierne om: – hvordan barnevogne, toiletpapir og illegal ketchup var med til at sætte en stopper for 40 års kommunistisk styre, – hvordan hunde (og det, de bar rundt på) medvirkede til at ydmyge et undertrykkende regime, – hvordan fodboldtilskuere fandt en måde at synge nationalsangen på, der trodsede en brutal militærjunta. Den nu afdøde tjekkiske præsident Václav Havel skrev forord til bogens første udgave i 2010, et forord, som også er med i den danske udgave.

Germany is the most important and powerful country in Europe. And yet it remains strangely little understood - by itself, as much as by the rest of the world. It is in a state of remarkable flux, confronting the demons of the past, whilst also seeking to make the West and the East into one country - a much greater challenge than it seemed. The coming enlargement of the European Union, which will bring much of formerly communist Eastern Europe into the EU, will make Germany more pivotal than ever. So what makes this country tick? For decades after the Second World War, the country remained strongly polluted by the Nazi legacy; there was little attempt to confront the past. For today's younger generation, by contrast, Nazism was a weird aberration that they themselves have difficulty in understanding. The book will explore those changes, and how German society itself is still in the midst of enormous change. The story takes us through three periods: Before the Poison (pre-1933), The Poison (1933-45) and - the heart of the book - the period of Coming to Terms, and the changes that this period has brought to the shape of the country. The coming to terms with the past overlaps, from 1990 onwards, with the East-West story, where mutual misunderstanding has been rife.