title: Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals
author:  Gary Jonathan Bass 
description: Gary Jonathan Bass, of Princeton University, offers a vigorous, liberal endorsement of war-crimes trials at a time when they're coming under close scrutiny in the aftermath of Bosnia, Kosovo, and Rwanda. This book--Bass's first--takes its title from U.S. prosecutor Robert Jackson's opening statement at the Nuremberg trials, following World WarII: "That four great nations, flushed with victory and stung with injury, stay the hand of vengeance and voluntarily submit their captive enemies to the judgment of the law is one of the most significant tributes that Power has ever paid to Reason." Nuremberg is, of course, widely regarded as a glowing success; other war-crimes tribunals fall far short of its mark. A strength of this book is Bass's willingness to deal with these realities. His defense of war-crimes trials doesn't rest on head-in-the-sky notions about international justice. He argues, simply, that they're in the interest of democratic, peace-loving nations: "It is not that these complicated and often muddled trials are too noble to question; it is that the other options could be worse."
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  The Lost Ambassador
  
  
  [CHAPTER I. A RENCONTRE](The%20Lost%20Ambassador_split_001.html#filepos8874)
  
  [CHAPTER II. A CAFE IN
  PARIS](The%20Lost%20Ambassador_split_001.html#filepos22372)
  
  [CHAPTER III. DELORA](The%20Lost%20Ambassador_split_001.html#filepos31198)
  
  [CHAPTER IV. DANGEROUS
  PLAY](The%20Lost%20Ambassador_split_001.html#filepos52144)
  
  [CHAPTER V. SATISFACTION](The%20Lost%20Ambassador_split_001.html#filepos65502)
  
  [CHAPTER VI. AN INFORMAL
  TRIBUNAL](The%20Lost%20Ambassador_split_001.html#filepos74144)
  
  [CHAPTER VII. A DOUBLE
  ASSIGNATION](The%20Lost%20Ambassador_split_001.html#filepos92456)
  
  [CHAPTER VIII. LOUIS
  INSISTS](The%20Lost%20Ambassador_split_001.html#filepos111427)
  
  [CHAPTER IX. A TRAVELLING
  ACQUAINTANCE](The%20Lost%20Ambassador_split_001.html#filepos127932)
  
  [CHAPTER X. DELORA
  DISAPPEARS](The%20Lost%20Ambassador_split_001.html#filepos147888)
  
  [CHAPTER XI. THROUGH THE
  TELEPHONE](The%20Lost%20Ambassador_split_001.html#filepos165489)
  
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