Shannon Fyfe Quoted by NPR Fyfe contributed to a “Deep Dive” story examining how questions of intent inform the legal definition of genocide.

By Law Communications
September 30, 2025

Washington and Lee law professor Shannon Fyfe was quoted in a recent NPR story examining Israel’s operations in Gaza and how historians, legal scholars, and military analysts interpret those actions in the context of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Fyfe says that genocide is the most difficult crime to prove in international court, largely because the “International Criminal Court says genocidal intent must be the only reasonable inference from the available evidence.”

“Genocide can occur within or outside of war. But it is never permissible, even if the war itself is. So war is not a defense. If the legal elements are met, they are met, regardless of other circumstances,” Fyfe told NPR.

But when it comes to intent, she said, “If a military leader intends to gain land and removing a group is the only way to do it, that’s not necessarily genocide. But if the only reasonable inference from a siege or campaign is that the group itself is being destroyed as such, then that is genocidal intent.”

Professor Fyfe’s research interests are in legal philosophy, ethics, and political philosophy, with a focus on philosophy and international conflict, particularly international criminal law. Her work in this field seeks to provide a philosophical framework for defending and criticizing current practices of holding individuals legally and morally accountable for their participation in mass atrocities. She holds both a Ph.D. in philosophy and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University.

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