Seeking Pathways to Peace: Michal Homza LL.M. ’12

Michal Homza. Photo by Brian Vandervliet.

Michal Homza. Photo by Brian Vandervliet.

“I’m trying to find pathways to peace,” Michal Homza, a 2012 graduate of Stetson University’s LL.M. in International Law program, explains of his research on the connection of international organizations to international peace and security.

Homza returns as a visiting scholar working on research for his Ph.D. from Pavol Jozef Safarik University during the fall semester on Stetson’s Gulfport campus. He says that he hopes that his research provides much-needed historical context for intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations, NATO, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that play a critical role in global diplomacy.

“How many people recall from history why the U.N. Security Council only has five permanent member nations?” Homza asks.

He says his research explores the history behind present-day international peacekeeping organizations in an effort to offer some solutions for implementation in the future.

Homza passed the New York bar exam after graduating with his LL.M. from Stetson, and worked for an international law firm in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. He says that his work at the law firm, focused more on international corporations than on people, inspired him to begin Ph.D. studies focused on how international organizations can impact peoples’ lives.

Through his Ph.D. research, Homza offers some perspective on how international organizations should contribute to international peace and security, for example by improving the concept of peacekeeping, and showing diplomatic solutions to global crises.

After wrapping up his Ph.D. and working in the legal field and in diplomacy, Homza says that he ultimately would love to teach international law in the area of public international law.

“International peace and security is everyone’s responsibility,” Homza says. “It’s up to all of us.”