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.

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Students wait outside classrooms in Sittwe, capital of western Rakhine State on June 1, 2021. Barbed wire separates the photographer and the students.

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: Don’t Let the Light of Education Be Extinguished

Educational reforms in Myanmar were derailed first by COVID, then by the coup. A local teacher explains the consequences, and how the international community can support education…
An American flag hangs on a wall behind barbed wire.

State Secrets and the Torture of Abu Zubaydah

More than any case to have reached the Supreme Court, Abu Zubaydah’s case demonstrates the need to carefully scrutinize what information the Executive Branch can legitimately…
Noxious weeds grow around a Lake Mendocino boat ramp as the water level dropped to 29% capacity on June 2, 2021, near Ukiah, California.

A Pandemic Isn’t the Only Kind of “Catastrophic Risk.” It’s Time to Prepare More Seriously for the Next.

If any good is to come of this crisis, it must be an increased awareness of America’s vulnerability -- and what it takes to prepare.
Lt. Gen. John Kimmons, U.S. Army, holds up a copy of the Army Field Manual, FM 2-22.3, Human Intelligence Collector Operations as he briefs reporters on the details of the manual in the Pentagon on Sept. 6, 2006.

The Méndez Principles: The Need to Update the Army Field Manual on Interrogation for the 21st Century

Defense Secretary Austin should convene an expert panel to ensure that methods used are informed by current science.
A Rohingya refugee family rests in a temporary shelter days after a fire burnt their home at a refugee camp in Ukhia, in the southeastern Cox's Bazar district on March 25, 2021.

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: The Views of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

The coup seemed to dash Rohingya refugee hopes of return to Myanmar. But some feel cautious hope at newfound cross-ethnic solidarity.
A 3D hologram of the globe with circles and grids laid over to indicate communications and technology.

The Sixth United Nations GGE and International Law in Cyberspace

Top expert analysis of the much-anticipated report that provides consensus views among key States on the application of international law to cyberspace.
A boy sits among women awaiting departure during the release of another group of Syrian families from the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds suspected relatives of Islamic State (IS) group fighters, in Hasakeh governorate in northeastern Syria, on January 28, 2021.

Gendering the Boy Child in the Context of Counterterrorism: The Situation of Boys in Northeast Syria

Much has been written about the gender of terrorism, and counterterrorism, including by myself. In much of that writing, there is a tendency to elide “gender” analysis with…
Officials inspect the damaged Karbala airport in the Iraqi shrine city, one of the areas targeted by US military air strikes. March 13, 2020

A Legacy of Unrecognized Harm: DoD’s 2020 Civilian Casualties Report 

The Pentagon report appears to defy the congressional requirement to report on civilian casualties “that were confirmed, or reasonably suspected, to have resulted in civilian…
Protesters hold up their mobile phones and candles during a candlelight vigil to honor those who have died during demonstrations against the military coup in Yangon on March 13, 2021. They wear face masks to protect against COVID-19.

Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: The Emerging New Politics of Gen Z

The atrocities committed by Tatmadaw soldiers have changed not only Myanmar’s political landscape but fundamentally transformed its political psyche.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte shakes hands with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Murad Ebrahim during the Ceremonial Confirmation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law Plebescite Law Canvass Results and Oath-taking of Transition Authority at the Malacanang palace in Manila on February 22, 2019.

A Pending Decision Pits Peace vs. Democracy in the Philippines

The question of postponing an election due next year in an autonomous region of Mindanao has some civil society organizations supporting the president's position.
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz points to a projector screen showing targets hit by Israeli army in Gaza, during a press briefing in Jerusalem on May 31, 2021. He does not wear a face mask.

The 2021 Gaza War and the Limits of International Humanitarian Law

"As long as international humanitarian law is unable to acknowledge the structural injustice of the situation—the asymmetry, the horror—discussions of these cases in the technical…
Masked fighters with the National Resistance Brigades (NRB), the military wing of the Democracy Front Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), speak to members of the press in front of the ruins of the al-Jalaa tower which hosted the offices of the news agency Associated Press and the Aljazeera English channel, destroyed by Israeli strikes during the recent confrontations between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City on May 23, 2021. They wear head gear and face masks that cover their entire faces except the eyes. A flag is draped over a podium with microphones. The fighters carry large guns.

The IDF Attack on Al Jalaa Tower: Criticisms Are Correct on the Law, But Mistaken in Applying It

A response to Professor Adil Haque's influential analysis.
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