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
Who does the New York Times think is a combatant in Gaza?
There is a strange quality to today’s story by the New York Times on the civilian casualty rate in Gaza (“Civilian or Not? New Fight in Tallying the Dead from the Gaza Conflict”).…
Guest Post: Has Hamas Overplayed Its Lawfare Strategy?
In the current Gaza conflict, the adversaries are employing very different strategies to achieve their operational objectives. Israel is executing a robust military strategy. By…
A Primer on the Laws of War that Apply to the Gaza Conflict
We were about to produce a primer on the law of war framework that governs the ongoing hostilities in Gaza. However, Human Rights Watch has just posted what we think is an excellent…
U.S. Edges Back Toward Landmine Treaty Path
After an agonizing five-year wait, the US announced the initial results of its landmine policy review on June 27, the final day of the Mine Ban Treaty’s Third Review Conference…
Deferential D.C. Circuit Upholds Genital Searches at Guantánamo
I’ve written before about the potential significance of the Guantánamo “counsel access” case—Hatim v. Obama–which raised the question of whether…
Russian Treaty Violations: A Blast from the Past or an Omen for the Future
On July 28, the New York Times ran a story with the headline “U.S. Says Russia Tested Cruise Missile, Violating Treaty.” Surprisingly, this story about an arms control…
Multiple Choice: Who Said This on Transparency and Targeted Killings Across State Borders?
Question: Who said this? “While the U.S. regards attacks on terrorists being protected in the sovereign territory of other States as potentially justifiable when undertaken in…
Road Map II: Legal Avenues to Prosecute a US Citizen for War Crimes—The Case of Gotabaya Rajapaksa
This is the second post arising out of a presentation I made at a congressional briefing earlier this month on issues of accountability in Sri Lanka. The analysis below is also…
European Court of Human Rights rules against Poland in CIA “black site” case
The European Court of Human Rights has handed down its much-awaited judgments in the cases of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri v. Poland and Abu Zubaydah v. Poland. The cases were brought…
In Advance of Activating The Crime of Aggression
I had the pleasure of participating in an Interactive Panel Discussion on the crime of aggression at the United Nations yesterday on the occasion of International Justice Day (so…
Letter to the Editor — Lt. Colonel David J. R. Frakt: What will Happen to al Bahlul?
I want to thank my esteemed colleagues Steve Vladeck and Marty Lederman for their very illuminating discussion of the D.C. Circuit’s recent decision in al Bahlul. I was Mr.…
What’s Left of Hamdan II? Quite a Lot, Actually…
Although it’s a bit further into the weeds than the issues Marty and I flagged in yesterday’s lengthy analysis of the en banc D.C. Circuit’s decision in al…