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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3,316 Articles
An elderly man pushes a cart in front of destroyed buildings leveled by Russian missile strikes in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Wrecked materials, as well as a car, surround the man.

Справедливість щодо злочину агресії сьогодні, стримування агресивних війн завтра: українська перспектива

«Відмова міжнародної спільноти навіть спробувати притягнути до відповідальності винних за агресію…

Let’s Talk About Compliance with International Humanitarian Law

What the empirics say about how States and non-State actors actually behave on the battlefield and under what conditions their compliance with humanitarian law changes.
An elderly man pushes a cart in front of destroyed buildings leveled by Russian missile strikes in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Wrecked materials, as well as a car, surround the man.

Justice for the Crime of Aggression Today, Deterrence for the Aggressive Wars of Tomorrow: A Ukrainian Perspective

Accountability for the crime of aggression against Ukraine is necessary for both justice today and deterrence tomorrow.
A multi-purpose weapon robot from US Darley Defense makes his way at the Eurosatory international land and airland defence and security trade fair, in Villepinte, a northern suburb of Paris, on June 13, 2022. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Gendering the Legal Review of New Means and Methods of Warfare

Weapons' use and impact on civilians and combatants varies across genders - meaning States must undertake gender-sensitive reviews of new weapons.
US Vice President Kamala Harris (L) looks on as US President Joe Biden holds up a pen to Ambassador Mikko Hautala, of the Republic of Finland, and Ambassador Karin Olofsdotter, of the Kingdom of Sweden, during a signing ceremony for the Instruments of Ratification for the Accession Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty for the Republic of Finland and Kingdom of Sweden, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. Behind them are the American, Finish, Swedish, and NATO flags.

America Resurgent: From Afghanistan to Ukraine

Ambassador Wolosky's essay describes his thoughts entering, serving, and exiting the Biden administration and the future of the international order.
A view of the Russian Central Bank headquarters in downtown Moscow on May 26, 2022. (Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images)

Politics, Not Law, Is Key to Confiscating Russian Central Bank Assets

The political and legal complications of using such proceeds to compensate Ukraine aren't trivial, but neither are they insurmountable.
A rally of Afghan women holding banners chant "Bread, work, and freedom" in front of the Taliban's education ministry building.

The Road to a Better Future for Afghanistan Starts with Women’s Education

At one end of Afghanistan lies an unending reality of instability and terror and death. At its other is the potential of a dream now denied.
Two Afghan women wearing traditional blue burqas walk past a Kabul cemetery. Below walks another woman with three young children.

After a Year of Privation With the Taliban’s Return, the People of Afghanistan Deserve Better from the US and the World

Tactical, short-sighted measures are not sufficient to prevent further worsening of conditions. A new approach is needed to meet the moment.
Afghan women hold placards during a demonstration demanding better rights for women in front of the former Ministry of Women Affairs in Kabul on September 19, 2021. (Photo by BULENT KILIC / AFP) (Photo by BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)

ضرورت راه اندازی کمپین جهانی علیه آپارتاید جنسیتی در أفغانستان، در آستانه یک سالگی بازگشت طالبان به قدرت

Now in translation: یک موضع‌گیری جهانی موثر و اصولی در قبال رفتار طالبان با زنان، نیازمند توجه و شناخت ماهیت…
Afghan women hold placards during a demonstration demanding better rights for women in front of the former Ministry of Women Affairs in Kabul on September 19, 2021. (Photo by BULENT KILIC / AFP) (Photo by BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)

The Best Way to Mark the Anniversary of Taliban Takeover? Launch a Global Campaign Against Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan

An effective and principled global response to the Taliban's treatment of women requires recognizing it for what it is: gender apartheid.
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 01: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks from the Blue Room balcony of the White House on August 1, 2022 in Washington, DC. Biden announced that over the weekend, U.S. forces launched an airstrike in Afghanistan that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Zawahiri, 71, took over leadership of al-Qaeda in 2011, shortly after American forces killed Osama bin Laden. The president said there were no civilian casualties. (Photo by Jim Watson-Pool/Getty Images)

What Was the International Legal Basis for the Strike on al-Zawahiri?

Serious questions need to be addressed in order to establish that both the killing of Zawahiri, and the use of force against Afghanistan, were not violations of international law.

Biden’s Weak Stand in Saudi Arabia Could Kick MBS’ Repression Machine Into Overdrive – But It’s Not Too Late to Act

The US could still change course to salvage the relationship, advance mutual interests, and expand overlapping values.
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