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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3,308 Articles
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Human Rights in Armed Conflict, Part II

In my previous post, I took seriously Jonathan Horowitz’s concern that some States believe that the application of international humanitarian law (IHL) may displace or reduce…
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney is flanked by his wife Lynne and Israel's President Moshe Katsav when leaders from 30 countries gather to remember the victims of the Holocaust on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazis' Auschwitz death camp by Soviet troops in Oswiecim, southern Poland on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2005. At left is Jolana Kwasniewski, the wife of Poland's President. Others surround them standing or sitting in chairs. Everyone wears coats and hats in the snowy weather.

Foreign Gov’t Assistance to Trump Administration Policies: What Int’l Law Prohibits

The policies of the incoming Trump Administration may spell legal trouble for cooperation between the United States and its allies in important areas of national security. One…

Questions for the Defense Department’s General Counsel

On Monday, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m., Jennifer O’Connor, general counsel of the Department of Defense, is giving a talk at NYU School of Law on “Applying the Law of Targeting to the…
Just Security

Smith v. Obama: The Political Question Doctrine Misapplied

Having joined The Constitution Project in an amicus brief in Smith v. Obama, I am disappointed the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decided to dismiss the case…
Just Security

Human Rights in Armed Conflict, Part I

When powerful States adopt a mistaken view of international law, should we—scholars, practitioners, and activists—resist their view and insist on our own? Or should we regard…
Soldiers torture a person lying on the ground using the “water detail” method in May, 1901, in Sual, the Philippines. “It is a terrible torture,” one soldier wrote. "This kind of torture is not identical with the practice of "waterboarding", as it lacks the cloth or other cover of the mouth.”

Will Trump Bring Back Torture? Not if He Learns from the Past and Follows the Law

Since Donald Trump’s election victory last week, attention has turned to figuring out which promises he will keep and which he will abandon. Regarding torture, there have been…
Just Security

Letter to the Editor: Chatham House Report and Individual Criminal Liability of Gov’t Officials

To the Editor: The Chatham House paper on “Aiding and Assisting: Challenges in Armed Conflict and Counterterrorism,” (see, State Complicity in Other States’ Bad Acts—and…
A world map with three hazard symbols laid over it. Radioactive, biohazard, and acute toxicity.

Recommendations to the New President on Countering WMD and Terrorism

After the U.S. Presidential election, we are entering a particularly vulnerable period as militant Islamists seek to test the new American president just as al-Qaeda (AQ) tested…

Trump’s Whistleblowers—Whether Limited Pardons for Manning and Snowden Makes Sense Now

Whatever you might have previously thought about the notion of President Barack Obama pardoning Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, the election of Donald Trump changes everything.…
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How Should Governments Evaluate the Actions of States They Assist?

Just Security and Chatham House are hosting a “mini forum” to debate and discuss Chatham House’s new research paper on “Aiding and Assisting: Challenges in Armed Conflict…
Just Security

Aiding and Assisting: The Relationship with International Criminal Law?

Just Security and Chatham House are hosting a “mini forum” to debate and discuss Chatham House’s new research paper on “Aiding and Assisting: Challenges in Armed Conflict…
Just Security

US Transparency Regarding International Law in Cyberspace

Last Thursday, State Department Legal Adviser Brian Egan, delivered an important speech at Berkeley Law School on the relationship between international law and cyber activities. …
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