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.
3,544 Articles

“License to Kill” in Salisbury: State-sponsored assassinations and the jus ad bellum
Above: U.K. Ambassador to the U.N. Jonathan Allen speaks at an urgent meeting of the Security Council on the recent nerve agent attack in Salisbury, U.K. on March 14, 2018. (Spencer…

The End of Pretending
Above: President Donald Trump speaks at CIA headquarters. Editors’ note: this article has been updated to reflect the newly-reported fact that Gina Haspel was not in charge…

When Does the Legal Basis for U.S. Forces in Syria Expire?
The State Department announced earlier this year that the “full and complete defeat of ISIS” is a necessary condition for ending U.S. military operations in Syria. But Senators…

Salisbury Response Option: Take Putin to Int’l Criminal Court
What legal options are open to the United Kingdom in its response to the alleged Russian assassination attempt in Salisbury? A separate piece at Just Security will discuss whether…

Just Security Podcast: Daphne Eviatar on Military Targeting under Trump
The sharp uptick in civilian casualties from U.S. military operations across the world under President Trump has alarmed human rights lawyers, who say the legal standards for targeting…

Trump’s Explanation for His Administration’s Use of Military Force Due Today
As I discuss in a piece over at Defense One, today is the deadline for the Trump administration to provide a detailed explanation to Congress on its legal and policy basis for…

The Lesson the Trump Administration has Failed to Learn about Yemen
Both the Trump and Obama administrations have advanced two fictions over the last three years to obscure U.S. complicity in Yemen’s humanitarian catastrophe. From former Secretary…

The Trump Administration Should Publicly Disclose its New Policy on Lethal Force
On Monday, President Trump is required to submit a report to Congress setting out changes he’s made to US policy governing the use of military force in counterterrorism operations.…

A Year On, Fog of War Not Lifting Over Deadly Raqqa Strikes
In March 2017, a U.S.-led coalition aircraft struck a boarding school in Mansourah, Syria, completely destroying it. Since then, the coalition has maintained that the building…

Cyber Operations and the U.S. Definition of “Armed Attack”
[Ed. Note: Based on Goodman's remarks at U.S. Cyber Command’s Annual Legal Conference.]
A widely accepted view of the UN Charter is that a State can use force…
A widely accepted view of the UN Charter is that a State can use force…

The Legality of U.S. Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia for Use in Yemen
The United States’ continued sales of billions of dollars of weapons to Saudi Arabia for use in military operations in Yemen—which the United Nations Expert Panel of Experts…

Episode 62 of the National Security Law Podcast: Wait–We Have to Talk About GATT?!?
It’s not every week on this show that we get to talk about the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade! And if that’s not an appealing…