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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3,628 Articles
(L-R) US Vice President JD Vance, US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio listen as Democratic Republic of the Congo Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner during a meeting with her and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe (not pictured) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2025. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed an agreement in Washington on Friday to put an end to a conflict in the eastern DRC that has killed thousands, although broad questions loom on what it will mean. Trump has trumpeted the diplomacy that led to the deal and publicly complained that he has not received a Nobel Peace Prize. But the agreement has also come under scrutiny for its vagueness including on the economic component, with the Trump administration eager to compete with China and profit from abundant mineral wealth in the long-turbulent east of the vast DRC. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. Sanctions Removal on Mining Magnate Would Set Back Peace and Investment in DR Congo

The Trump administration and Congress can end the cycle of looting, smuggling, and violent extraction of raw materials from the DRC and provide a better footing for peace.
The Just Security Podcast Cover Image

The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part II — What We Know about U.S. Vessel Strikes One Month In

Tess Bridgeman and Rachel Goldbrenner are joined by Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane to analyze the facts, the law, and implications of U.S. killings in the Caribbean.
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via a videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 25, 2025. (Photo by SERGEI ILYIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian Motivations Behind the “Hanoi Convention” Against Cybercrime

Russia’s cybercrime stance reflects a broader push to assert state control over the internet, restrict dissent, and build global backing for its governance model.
Top shot of Pamela Bondi before the Senate Judiciary Committee

What the Senate Judiciary Committee Should Ask A.G. Bondi on Drug Cartel Strikes

Annotated questions Congress should be asking about U.S. military strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean.
The US Navy warship USS Sampson (DDG 102) docks at the Amador International Cruise Terminal in Panama City

Legal Flaws in the Trump Administration’s Notice to Congress on “Armed Conflict” with Drug Cartels

The Trump administration’s “armed conflict” justification, however, is groundless.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)

Trump Signals Instrumental Approach to U.N. – But it Could Be Worse

Trump's General Assembly speech could have been worse, but it also showed that if countries want to make the U.N. system work, they can't bank on U.S. leadership.

Balancing the Scales: Survivors’ Needs and Rights and Criminal Accountability in Ukraine

Providing options and support for victims of sexual and gender-based violence can help survivors see themselves as part of a larger movement toward accountability and healing.
View of an oil terminal

The Imperative to Weaken the Kremlin’s War Economy: What the West Can Do

The West must cut off Russia's energy revenues, target its enablers, and enforce sanctions with vigor to constrain its war economy.
A NATO AWACS Tactical Director assesses the air and surface situation aboard an AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) NATO air surveillance aircraft during a flight over Polish airspace as part of the alliance's new Eastern Sentry mission on September 19, 2025. NATO said on September 19, 2025, it had scrambled aircraft to intercept Russian jets violating Estonian airspace, calling it proof of Moscow's "reckless" behaviour and the alliance's readiness to counter it. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP) (Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)

Legally Available Options in Response to Russia’s Penetrations of NATO Airspace

"International law, in its wisdom, makes such options legally available."
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Yvette Cooper, and Britain's Deputy Prim Minister David Lammy. (Photo by KIN CHEUNG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Yet Again: The U.K. Government Mischaracterizes Its Obligation to Prevent Genocide in Gaza

"Starmer’s government likely knows a proper interpretation of the law would require a change of policy."
Marshall Islands president Hilda Heine speaks during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City on September 24, 2025. (Photo by Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP) (Photo by LEONARDO MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images)

A Human Rights Approach to Nuclear Regimes: Lessons from the Legacy of Nuclear Testing in the Marshall Islands

Acknowledgement and respect for human rights can encourage States, like the Marshall Islands, to join and actively participate in nuclear regimes.
Military justice image

US Servicemembers’ Exposure to Criminal Liability for Lethal Strikes on Narcoterrorists

Analysis by former career judge advocate officer and former court-martial prosecutor.
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