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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.

Civilian HarmIsrael-Hamas WarLaw of Armed Conflict/IHLRussia-UkraineSudanUse of Force
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3,316 Articles
U.S. Army Fort Benning sign reading, "Welcome to Fort Benning Home of the Maneuver Center"

At Confederate-Named Army Bases, Highlight US Ideals By Renaming Them for Honorable Figures

The facilities should be named after accomplished figures who represent the diversity that makes the country and the Army strong. And there are plenty.
Jun. 10, 2020 and
CTBTO inspection Nevada nuclear test site

The Trump Administration’s Nuclear Test Delusions

Resuming testing provides no strategic benefit and would undermine a treaty that has curbed the spread of nuclear weapons for more than 50 years.
Jun. 10, 2020
Trump holds up a chart of military hardware sales as he meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office at the White House on March 20, 2018 in Washington, D.C. The chart is titled, “12.5 billion in finalized sales to Saudi Arabia.” MBS is smiling.

Yes, Congress, There Is Something You Can Do About Reckless Arms Sales

Recently proposed sales are particularly problematic given reports of unlawful retransfers and irresponsible, if not illegal, end use by both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.…
Jun. 9, 2020 and
UNIFIL soldiers stand in a field with a UN flag as they watch an Israeli army complete routine maneuvers (Israeli army not shown).

National Security at the United Nations This Week (May 29-June 5)

(Editor’s Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…
Jun. 5, 2020
Asylum seekers wait for news outside El Chaparral port of entry on the US-Mexico border in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on March 19, 2020. It is raining and some carry umbrellas.

Turned Away: The MS St. Louis and Its Echoes Today

In early June 1939, more than 900 passengers—almost all Jewish—sailed near the Florida coast aboard the MS St. Louis. Fleeing persecution by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party in…
Jun. 5, 2020
The guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) fires a close-in weapons system during a live-fire exercise, April 27, 2020.

On Iranian Gunboats: Beware Conflating American and Mainstream Views of the Law

In a recent essay in Just Security entitled “Iranian Gunboat Harassment and the Rules of Engagement,” Michael Schmitt and Durward Johnson explore important questions raised…
Jun. 2, 2020
Secretary-General António Guterres (left) speaks with Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.

National Security at the United Nations This Week (May 22-29)

(Editor’s Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…
May 29, 2020
The entrance near the new courtroom at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Jurisdiction at Guantanamo: The Case of Long-Term Complicity

The commission should stop asking whether the acts of facilitation occurred during an armed conflict. Rather, the commission should be asking whether the defendants facilitated…
May 28, 2020
The 73rd anniversary memorial service for the atomic bomb victims at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on August 6, 2018.

Nuclear Arms Control, or a New Arms Race? Trump Seems Bent on the Latter.

More ambitious talks with the Russians and Chinese are a laudable goal. But they can be pursued smartly and without unnecessarily high risk.
May 27, 2020
Armed forces accompany the convoy as UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths leaves Houthi-held Sana'a after a one-day visit on February 18, 2019 in Sana'a, Yemen.

How the U.N. Can Help Prevent the Spread of Proxy Conflicts

When the Security Council's most powerful five members control the international arms trade and also thwart regulation, another solution is needed.
May 27, 2020 and
Syrian men evacuate children from the rubble of destroyed buildings following reported government airstrike on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on February 25, 2017.

Time to Move Beyond the Rhetoric of Protecting Civilians in Conflict

In his annual protection report to the United Nations Security Council, released this month, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued a clear call to parties to conflict…
May 26, 2020
Omaima A, the widow of high-ranking Islamic State member Denis Cuspert, arrives for the first day of her trial on May 4, 2020 in Hamburg, Germany.

A Lost Phone Brings a Female ISIS Returnee to Trial for Crimes Against Humanity

Almost six years have passed since the genocide against the Yazidis, an ethno-religious minority group in Northern Iraq, and one of the first trials against a female ISIS returnee…
May 22, 2020
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