Armed Conflict

Just Security’s expert authors provide analysis on the legal, policy, and strategic dimensions of armed conflict, including the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war, counterterrorism operations, conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, and other armed conflicts across the globe, with a focus on international humanitarian law, war crimes and accountability, mitigating and remedying civilian harm, and the humanitarian impacts of warfare.

Highlights:

IMAGES (left to right): People search through buildings, destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip on November 7, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza (Photo by Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images); A fireball erupts during Israeli bombardment of Gaza City on October 9, 2023 (Photo by Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images); The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the UN, holds public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa in the case South Africa v. Israel on 11 and 12 January 2024, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court (Photo by the International Court of Justice).

Just Security’s Israel-Hamas War Archive

Just Security's collection of more than 110 articles covering the Israel-Hamas War and its diplomatic, legal, and humanitarian consequences.
A collage of images featuring scenes from the Russia - Ukraine War.

Just Security’s Russia–Ukraine War Archive

A catalog of over 100 articles (many with Ukrainian translations) on the Russia Ukraine War -- law, diplomacy, policy options, and more.
The Just Security Podcast

The Just Security Podcast: A Ukrainian MP Takes Stock of the NATO Summit and the Prospects for Peace

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko discusses the NATO Summit and the war with Washington Senior Editor Viola Gienger and guest host Lauren Van Metre.
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - JUNE 26: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine turns to watch a video of a bombing test of the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) used in the attack on the Iranian Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant during a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on June 26, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The Department of Defense top officials gave an update after three Iranian nuclear facilities were struck by the U.S. military last weekend and Iran countered by launching missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The U.S. Attack on Iran Was Unconstitutional

Trump’s strike on Iran violated constitutional limits on the president's unilateral power to take the nation to war—an authority the Framers reserved for Congress.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (L) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine (R) turn to watch a video of a bombing test

What Counts as a Win?: Battle Damage Assessments and Public Messaging

The White House's future BDA briefings on the Iran strikes will likely project certainty where analysis still urges caution.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine discusses the mission details of a strike on Iran during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. U.S. President Donald Trump gave an address to the nation last night after three Iranian nuclear facilities were struck by the U.S. military. In the image he is showing the media a graphic that describes the timeline of the operation. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The Day After U.S. Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Program: A Policy and Legal Assessment

An expert policy and legal assessment of the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and what comes next.
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3,220 Articles
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Camille Shea speaks during a Security Council Meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict at United Nations headquarters on June 24, 2025 in New York. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Assessing the U.S. Article 51 Letter for the Attack on Iran: Legal Lipstick on the Use of Force Pig

Former State Department attorney analyzes U.S. letter to UN Security Council that presented legal arguments for U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Protesters take part in a demonstration against violence against minorities in Syria, with reports saying attacks have killed more than 1,000 mostly Alawite civilians, with Christians being caught up in a wave of violence, outside the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, on March 15, 2025. Protesters carried signs with slogans such as "Stop the slaughter, no more bloodshed" and "Just one of the massacres." Many held up photographs of bodies lying in the streets, emphasizing the brutality of the ongoing conflict. (Photo by PHIL NIJHUIS/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s Not Too Late for States Parties to Fulfill the Promise of the International Criminal Court: Three Actions They Should Take Now

The ICC might still play a role in walking humanity back from the brink, if States can find the political will to respect and strengthen the work of the Court.
Collage of the Israel-Iran conflict

Collection: Iran-Israel/United States Conflict

Experts analyze critical dimensions of Israel’s strikes relevant responses, covering nuclear diplomacy; strategic, security, and regional implications; and international law.
An Iranian flag is draped from a building damaged during a recent attack by Israel in the Gisha neighborhood of Tehran, Iran, on June 25, 2025. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Why War? Why Now? Assessing Iranian Intentions and Capabilities

Why did Israel, and then the United States, decide to attack Iran now, even as U.S.-Iranian negotiations sputtered along?
People walk by a photo of commanders killed by Israel

From War to Control: How the Recent Iran-Israel Conflict Risks Deepening the Islamic Republic’s Repression

The ceasefire may stop the bombs, but it will not reverse the repression that has long defined Islamic Republic’s internal trajectory.
People mourn at the morgue of Al-Awda hospital, in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza on June 20, 2025, after several Palestinians were killed as they reportedly headed to a food distribution centre in the war-stricken Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Cumulative Civilian Harm in Gaza: A Gendered View

For knowledge, accountability, and reparation we need to reconceive of the consequences of violence for Gazan civilians as composite, aggregate, collective, and layered harms.
The U.S. Capitol building is seen at sunset on March 1, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

The Trump Administration’s Flawed War Powers Report on Iran and the Need for a Congressional Rebuttal

The White House’s legal justifications for attacking Iran are unconvincing and raise concerns about unauthorized use of force. Congress should push back.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (L), accompanied by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine (R), speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. U.S. President Donald Trump gave an address to the nation last night after three Iranian nuclear facilities were struck by the U.S. military. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

President Trump’s Decision to Bomb Iran: From Bad to Worse

Whether newly announced ceasefire actually leads to end hostilities will not change the new reality: a comprehensive agreement is less likely now than before the bombing
A general view shows the UN High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States at UN Headquarters on June 19, 2023 in New York. (Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)

Time for Rightsizing: Change is Coming to the UN Counterterrorism System

The UN80 reform process, done well, offers a chance to streamline sprawling -- and too often harmful -- structures to focus on the U.N.’s core purpose.
Members of the UN Security Council listen as Ambassador Danny Danon, Permanent Representative of Israel to the UN, speaks during an emergency meeting at the United Nations Headquarters on June 13, 2025 in New York City (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Indefensible: Israel’s Unlawful Attack on Iran

Part of our ongoing series on the Israel-Iran war.
Flags of USA and Iran

Top Experts’ Backgrounder: Military Action Against Iran and US Domestic Law

Experts who advised a president on use of force answer a full range of basic questions on the conditions under which action against Iran would be lawful, and what options Congress…
plume of heavy smoke and fire rise from an oil refinery in southern Tehran

Israel and Iran: A War with No Off-Ramp

The constellation of forces in Israel, the United States, and beyond complicates efforts to find an off-ramp to the war.
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