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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3,582 Articles
In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on June 18, 2026, vessels are seen anchored in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz.

Expert Q&A: Decoding the Treasury Department’s Actions on Iran

How to understand the Treasury Department's sanctions relief for Iran's oil sector, its quick reversal, and what to look for going forward.
Damaged bridge over a river with a large hole in the middle and people looking on.

When Civilian Infrastructure Becomes a Lawful Target

Civilian infrastructure is not targetable merely because it is economically significant or politically useful to strike, but only when it offers a definite military advantage.
A tiny three-wheeled vehicle with open sides drives from right to left in the foreground across a wide dirt road in front of an embankment, beyond which a calm expanse of water extends to the mostly cloudy skyline with a bit of whitish sun glaring through. The silhouette of a goat can be seen standing or walking along the top of the embankment from left to right.

Why Gold Threatens Peace in South Sudan

Without robust safeguards, ramping up gold production in South Sudan could fuel corruption, money laundering, and conflict.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 21, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Clausewitz on Operation Epic Fury

Applying Clausewitz’s principles to Operation Epic Fury reveals the war’s strategic design–architecture linking military action to political purpose–was deficient from…
A red and white cargo ship at sea in the distance, with a yellow crane-like piece of equipment, presumably at the terminal, in the foreground.

Merchant Mariners: Unseen in Peacetime and Forgotten in Conflict

The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran illustrates how thousands of merchant mariners, so desperately needed globally, increasingly are trapped at sea during times of conflict.
The exterior of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on March 28, 2026.

The State Department’s Campaign Against the ICC Rests on a Misunderstanding of How the Court Actually Works

While the ICC does have real problems, the State Department's campaign against it is premised on a misapprehension of how the Court works.

How Congress Can End Trump’s Iran War and Prevent the Next One

By defying Congress's vote on the Iran war, Trump has again disregarded constitutional limits on war-making, underscoring the need for firmer congressional action.
The building of the International Criminal Court in The Hague in 2019. (Photo by OSeveno via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons license)

In Context: Analyzing Secretary Rubio’s International Criminal Court Op-Ed

International law scholars address some of the factual claims and underlying assumptions in Secretary Marco Rubio's op-ed on dismantling the International Criminal Court.

Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers, Operation Southern Spear, Operation Absolute Resolve

Collection of expert analysis on the legality of the U.S. strike on Venezuelan vessels in the Caribbean, the consequences of the strike, and related issues.

What does the Trump Administration Statement on Dismantling the ICC Really Mean?

International law experts respond to the Trump administration's campaign to "dismantle" the International Criminal Court.
The afternoon sun shines on the U.S. Capitol Building on July 1, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Civilian Protection in the Age of Military AI: What Congress’s New Legislative Proposals Reveal About Emerging Safeguards

Members of the Senate are taking steps to regulate and restrict how the Department of Defense develops and uses AI in its operations.
A woman in a long skirt and headscarf rests her hand on a white gravestone among rows of memorial headstones at a Potocari cemetery, Srebrenica, under a partly cloudy sky.

Revived Islamophobic Narratives Pose Renewed Danger as Bosnia Commemorates the Srebrenica Genocide

Bosnian Serb leader denies the mass killings, rapes, and ethnic cleansing of Bosniaks while reviving racist, anti-Muslim narratives that preceded the atrocities.
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