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.
3,526 Articles

Turkey’s Humanitarian Rationale for its Idlib Offensive in Syria
The legality of forcible humanitarian intervention is the subject of great debate. But the situation in Idlib over the past year had grown catastrophic.

COVID-19 and Violent Conflict: Responding to Predictable Unpredictability
Eleven baseline understandings are likely to be key in designing the most effective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in impoverished, conflict-affected regions.

It’s Time Iraq Accepts Legal Responsibility for Its Iran-Backed Militias
Legal reform of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMFs) would have a more durable effect on these hostile militias than a few US air strikes.

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…

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.

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.

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…

Repatriating Foreign Fighters from Syria: International Law and Political Will (Part 1)
Does international law require States to repatriate their foreign fighters?

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…

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…

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.

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,…