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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3,527 Articles

In 11th-Hour Diplomacy, US and Europe Try to Stop Putin From Escalating War on Ukraine

Despite the sullen Kremlin attitude so far, there may be more room to advance the diplomatic track with a combination of carrots and sticks.
An overhead view of the Pentagon building in Washington, DC.

Clear Error in the Defense Department’s Law of War Manual: On Presumptions of Civilian Status

This article is the first in a new project at Just Security that assesses the U.S. Department of Defense’s Law of War Manual with a goal of providing constructive opportunities…
Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) speaks with his Belarus counterpart Viktor Khrenin (R) prior to a meeting with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenka in Minsk on February 3, 2022. The United States said on February 2, 2022 it was deploying thousands of troops to bolster NATO forces in eastern Europe, ratcheting up its military response to fears that Russia could invade Ukraine, as tensions have been further aggravated by plans for joint military exercises between Russia and neighboring Belarus, where Washington claims Moscow is preparing to send 30,000 troops. (Photo by MAXIM GUCHEK/BELTA/AFP via Getty Images)

Retired Russian Generals Criticize Putin Over Ukraine, Renew Call for His Resignation

Censors haven't yet blocked the rhetorical attack from the assembly of hardline veterans, giving the message space and time to spread.
S. Army (retired) General Lloyd Austin looks forward after being formally nominated to be Secretary of the Department of Defense by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden at the Queen Theatre on Dec. 9, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware.

A Big Step Forward or Running in Place?: The Pentagon’s New Policy on Civilian Casualties

New Pentagon effort to respond to civilian harm is encouraging, but DOD needs to demonstrate leadership, scope the problem correctly, and address the growing credibility gap to…
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 01: Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen (L) listens during a hearing before the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of House Energy and Commerce Committee December 1, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The subcommittee held a hearing on "Holding Big Tech Accountable: Targeted Reforms to Tech's Legal Immunity." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Disinformation, Radicalization, and Algorithmic Amplification: What Steps Can Congress Take?

Ambassador (ret.) Karen Kornbluh proposes concrete steps to curb online extremist content - from requiring transparency to FTC enforcement actions.
A view of the entrance to the Court of Cassation (Cour de cassation), one of France's courts of last resort having jurisdiction over all matters triable, is pictured on March 21, 2017, on Ils de la Cite, an island in the River Sein in central Paris . (Photo by THOMAS SAMSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)

La France n’est pas un havre de paix pour les auteurs de violations des droits de l’homme, malgré l’avis de la Haute Cour

This article is also available in English here. Traduction fournie par l’auteur Un avis retentissant rendu par la plus haute juridiction française a semé le doute sur…
A gray, black, and white aerial image of two compounds surrounded by trees. One building is in the middle of green crosshairs from US video camera.

The Al-Qurayshi Operation and Minimization of Civilian Casualties

US officials’ emphasis on minimization of civilian casualties in an operation against such a high value target deserves special attention.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at Mill 19, a former steel mill being developed into a robotics research facility, on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University on January 28, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Biden arrived in Pittsburgh for a scheduled visit to promote his bipartisan infrastructure plan hours after at least 10 people were reportedly injured when a major bridge collapsed in the city.

Biden’s Guantanamo Politics are not Obama’s

To the extent that political concerns with moving aggressively toward Guantanamo closure were at one time persuasive among some executive branch officials, they shouldn’t be…
A woman (R) walks past pigeons flying near a tree along a footpath in Yangon on January 27, 2022. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

From ‘8888’ to ‘2121’: A New Generation of Resistance in Myanmar

The attempted coup one year ago ushered in a new era for Myanmar. Where will it lead?
The main gate at the prison in Guantanamo at the US Guantanamo Naval Base on October 16, 2018, in Guantanamo Base, Cuba. A tower with an American flag is seen behind barbed wire fencing.

Biden Team Gets It Right on Inadmissibility of Torture Evidence in Al-Nashiri Case

In a much anticipated brief, the government categorically rejected the use of statements obtained through torture in military commissions and promised not to admit any statements…
Sudanese demonstrators take part in a rally to protest last year's military coup, in the capital Khartoum, on January 30, 2022. The October 25 coup led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan derailed a civilian-military power-sharing deal negotiated in the wake of the 2019 ouster of autocrat Omar al-Bashir. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Senate Hearing on Sudan: Is the US Ready for a Needed Reset?

US policy, including sanctions, should reflect the new reality on the ground and the Biden administration's stated commitment to democracy.
(L-R) Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel-General Alexander Fomin, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during the NATO-Russia Council meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, on January 12, 2022.  (Photo by OLIVIER HOSLET/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Putin’s Coercion on NATO Goes Beyond Its Open Door Policy

An over-fixation on alliance enlargement in responding to Russia’s buildup will not create lasting stability. The catalysts are more complex.
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