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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 WarRussia-UkraineSudanLaw of Armed Conflict/IHLUse of Force
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3,331 Articles
A fighter with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) monitors on surveillance screens, crowded prison cells filled with people accused of being affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group, at a prison in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh on October 26, 2019.

Repatriating Foreign Fighters from Syria: International Law and Political Will (Part 2)

The detention conundrum: States rely on non-state groups for counterterrorism operations, but they are simultaneously reluctant to accept the return of terrorists captured and…
Mar. 20, 2020
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar shake hands after signing a peace agreement during a ceremony in the Qatari capital Doha on February 29, 2020.

The U.S.-Taliban Agreement: Not a Ceasefire, or a Peace Agreement, and Other International Law Issues

Beatrice Walton explains the continuing lack of clarity concerning the terms of the recent Afghan peace deal and its potential effects moving forward.
Mar. 19, 2020
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a press conference at the State Department in Washington DC, on March 17, 2020.

Former Officials Challenge Pompeo’s Threats to the International Criminal Court

A statement by former U.S. Ambassadors for War Crimes and U.S. Chief Prosecutors.
Mar. 18, 2020 , and 4 more
Side by side photographs or Dr. Li Wenliang in a lab coat and face mask and of him in bed on a ventilator.

Moral Courage in the Coronavirus: A Guide for Medical Providers and Institutions

Times of crisis generate extreme moral dilemmas: situations we can’t begin to imagine, unthinkable choices emerging between options that all seem bad, each with harms and negative…
Mar. 18, 2020 and
A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) looks through a door window to a crowded cell where men suspected to be affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group are jailed in northeast Syria in the city of Hasakeh on October 26, 2019.

Repatriating Foreign Fighters from Syria: International Law and Political Will (Part 1)

Does international law require States to repatriate their foreign fighters?
Mar. 18, 2020
Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) hearing to receive oral arguments in the appeals of victims and of the Prosecutor against Pre-Trial Chamber II's "Decision Pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute on the Authorisation of an Investigation into the Situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan". The Appeals Chamber in this appeal is composed of Judge Piotr Hofmański, Presiding judge, Judge Howard Morrison, Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa and Judge Kimberly Prost. December 4, 2019

The “Interests of Justice” at the ICC: A Continuing Mystery

David Luban explains how the ICC Appeals Chamber missed an opportunity to clarify what "interests of justice" the Prosecutor must consider in authorizing an investigation in the…
Mar. 17, 2020
PBS NewsHour's Yamiche Alcindor asks President Donald Trump about decision to close National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense, March 13, 2020.

Lessons Ignored: John Bolton’s Bogus Defense of “Streamlining” Away Our Bio-Readiness

Former director of USAID’s Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance won't let John Bolton rewrite history. "What undermines public confidence ... is the administration’s own…
Mar. 16, 2020
In this photograph, what appears to be a big explosion is an electromagnetic railgun is fired at 10.64 megajoules with a muzzle velocity of 2,520 meters per second at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren, VA. January 31, 2008.

The Complex Policy Questions Raised by Nuclear Energy’s Role in the Future of Warfare

Military planners are eyeing a new generation of energy-dense nuclear reactors to power future high-energy weapons, despite potential policy and legal challenges to doing so.
Mar. 16, 2020 , and 1 more
World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme Director Michael Ryan, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Technical Lead Maria Van Kerkhove speak at a daily press briefing on COVID-19 virus at the WHO headquaters on March 11, 2020 in Geneva.

National Security at the United Nations This Week (Mar. 7 to Mar. 13)

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,…
Mar. 13, 2020
Defense Department General Counsel Paul C. Ney gives a speech at BYU Law School on March 4, 2020.

The Trump Administration’s Latest (Failed) Attempt to Justify the Soleimani Strike

Two months after killing Qassem Soleimani, the Trump administration still hasn’t gotten its story straight. On January 3rd, the day of the operation, and for the next 10 days,…
Mar. 13, 2020
The dome of the U.S. Capitol Buidling and the US flag.

The Soleimani Strike and the Case for War Powers Reform

With passage of historic war powers legislation on Iran, a leading authority homes in on what deep reform of the war powers should look like.
Mar. 11, 2020
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar shake hands after signing a peace agreement during a ceremony in the Qatari capital Doha on February 29, 2020.

Peace in Afghanistan: Showmanship over Substance

It is clear why it is in the best interests of both the Taliban and the Trump administration to maintain the masquerade despite ongoing Taliban and Haqqani attacks targeting both…
Mar. 11, 2020
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