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
Fragmented Wars: International Law and Multi-Territorial Conflict Against Non-State Armed Groups
The legal issues surrounding military operations against non-State armed groups abroad are continuing to generate policy and legal debates. In an article just published in International…
US-UAE Partnership and Alleged Torture: Recommended Next Steps for the Administration and Congress
An important foreign military partner in our armed conflict against al-Qaida in Yemen—the United Arab Emirates—has faced a series of allegations that it is engaged in systematic…
International Cyber Law Politicized: The UN GGE’s Failure to Advance Cyber Norms
On June 23, after years of slow yet meaningful progress in developing State consensus regarding the application of international law norms to cyberspace, the UN Group of Governmental…
Pentagon Admits Major Investigation Flaw: They Rarely Talk to Air Strike Witnesses or Victims
In a transcript of a Pentagon Press Briefing, released this week by Airwars, Central Command’s Deputy Director for Operations made a striking admission about U.S. investigations…
Safe Zones – Only Ever a Temporary Fix When Nothing Else Is Available
Fleeing a conflict zone is dangerous. The route to safety, to a country where a refugee can obtain protection, can be deadly. Over 3,700 people died trying cross the Mediterranean…
A Test Case for Guantánamo’s New Convening Authority
The latest Guantánamo military commission case to make headlines—the new charges against Encep Nurjamen (a.k.a. Hambali)—is shrouded in an unusual amount of secrecy. But when…
The “Leahy Law” Prohibiting US Assistance to Human Rights Abusers: Pulling Back the Curtain
With almost weekly news reports of US support for foreign governments with track records of gross human rights abuse—think torture in Yemen by Emirati security forces, violations…
Tillerson’s “Peaceful” Regime Change for Iran: Really? And What Comes Next?
At this point in our internecine political discourse, it is increasingly rare for foreign policy stories to survive more than a single news cycle unless they involve Russia. …
Congress’s 2001 AUMF as Legal Basis for US Shootdown of Syrian Jet
It is not that much of a stretch to say that Congress’s 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) provides a legal basis for the U.S. shootdown of a Syrian jet,…
Timeline of Escalation in Syria: U.S. vs. Iran, Russia, Syria and “Pro-Regime” Forces post January 20, 2017
April 4: Chemical attack A rocket laced with the nerve agent sarin kills more than 80 civilians in Khan Shaykhun in the rebel-held Idlib province. The attack is attributed to the…
The Potential Legal Implications for the U.S. in the AP’s Disturbing UAE Torture Scoop
[Editor’s note: for an analysis of the policy issues raised by this news, see Luke Hartig’s post “Reported Emirati Abuse of Detainees and the Perils of U.S. Partnerships.”]…
Exclusive: Draft Military Force Authorization against ISIL—by House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ranking Member Rep. Engel
Representative Eliot Engel, the ranking Democratic member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has prepared a draft authorization for use of military force (AUMF) against ISIL…