Diplomacy

Just Security’s expert authors offer analysis of diplomacy and its role in addressing global challenges, from armed conflicts to international crises and more. Our coverage includes U.S. foreign policy, international organizations, and multilateral diplomacy related to critical global issues.

Highlights:

People lay flowers and set candles to memorial

Trump Administration’s Proposed Cuts to Accountability for Mass Atrocities Undermine Its Own Strategic Goals

International accountability efforts are not a misguided moral crusade – they are a core instrument of U.S. national power.
The facade of the ICC building.

Rethinking ICC Reform: Politics, Legitimacy, and the Perils of Expansion Without Consolidation

States should use the Special Session to reinforce the ICC’s foundations and ensure it can credibly discharge its existing mandate.
A man walks past an infrastructure project underway for COP30 in Belem, Para state, Brazil

COP 30 Must Not Cop Out

Brazil, the Parties, and other stakeholders should ensure the issue of "nationally determined contribution" emission targets lie at the heart of COP 30.
The Just Security Podcast

The Just Security Podcast: A Ukrainian MP Takes Stock of the NATO Summit and the Prospects for Peace

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko discusses the NATO Summit and the war with Washington Senior Editor Viola Gienger and guest host Lauren Van Metre.
IMAGES (left to right): People search through buildings, destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip on November 7, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza (Photo by Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images); A fireball erupts during Israeli bombardment of Gaza City on October 9, 2023 (Photo by Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images); The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the UN, holds public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa in the case South Africa v. Israel on 11 and 12 January 2024, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court (Photo by the International Court of Justice).

Just Security’s Israel-Hamas War Archive

Just Security's collection of more than 110 articles covering the Israel-Hamas War and its diplomatic, legal, and humanitarian consequences.
Gavel and scales with a US flag in the background as symbols of a jurisdiction.

Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions

A public resource tracking all the legal challenges to the Trump administration's executive orders and actions.
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2,757 Articles
Binders of executive orders stacked on a desk.

Collection: Just Security’s Coverage of Trump Administration Executive Actions

Coverage of key developments, including in concise “What Just Happened” expert explainers, legal and policy analysis, and more. Check back frequently for updates.
The Just Security Podcast

The Just Security Podcast: Is there a diplomatic path for Iran’s nuclear program? An interview with Richard Nephew

Just Security’s Tess Bridgeman is joined by  Richard Nephew to discuss where things stand and what a path forward for Iran might look like.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Camille Shea speaks during a Security Council Meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict at United Nations headquarters on June 24, 2025 in New York. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Assessing the U.S. Article 51 Letter for the Attack on Iran: Legal Lipstick on the Use of Force Pig

Former State Department attorney analyzes U.S. letter to UN Security Council that presented legal arguments for U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Collage of the Israel-Iran conflict

Collection: Iran-Israel/United States Conflict

Experts analyze critical dimensions of Israel’s strikes relevant responses, covering nuclear diplomacy; strategic, security, and regional implications; and international law.
U.S. Navy officers stand guard aboard the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Minnesota after the vessel docked at HMAS Stirling in Rockingham, Western Australia, on February 26, 2025, during a port visit. (Photo by COLIN MURTY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Pentagon’s AUKUS Review is an Opportunity — If Done Right

The success of AUKUS is important for validating and refining a kind of joint defense model that the United States can use to forge more productive partnerships.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (L), accompanied by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine (R), speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. U.S. President Donald Trump gave an address to the nation last night after three Iranian nuclear facilities were struck by the U.S. military. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

President Trump’s Decision to Bomb Iran: From Bad to Worse

Whether newly announced ceasefire actually leads to end hostilities will not change the new reality: a comprehensive agreement is less likely now than before the bombing
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gestures while standing at a podium, delivering an address at the Shangri-La Dialogue Summit in Singapore on May 31, 2025. Behind him is a blue backdrop with logos and lettering reflecting the event. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Trump Administration’s Costly Sidelining of Human Rights in Foreign Policy

The Trump administration’s approach to human rights ignores the real-world downsides and missed opportunities of setting aside human rights as a U.S. foreign policy interest.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine discusses the mission details of a strike on Iran during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. U.S. President Donald Trump gave an address to the nation last night after three Iranian nuclear facilities were struck by the U.S. military. In the image he is showing the media a graphic that describes the timeline of the operation. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The Day After U.S. Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Program: A Policy and Legal Assessment

An expert policy and legal assessment of the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and what comes next.
A general view shows the UN High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of Member States at UN Headquarters on June 19, 2023 in New York. (Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)

Time for Rightsizing: Change is Coming to the UN Counterterrorism System

The UN80 reform process, done well, offers a chance to streamline sprawling -- and too often harmful -- structures to focus on the U.N.’s core purpose.
Counsellors from The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) talk with clients during an HIV clinic day at TASO Mulago service center on February 17, 2025 in Kampala, Uganda

U.S. Foreign Aid Cuts to Healthcare Trigger a Global Human Rights Crisis: How the World Must Respond

The U.N. Human Rights Council's current session offers a critical opening for leaders to address the health crisis spurred by U.S. funding cuts.
A collage of images featuring scenes from the Russia - Ukraine War.

Just Security’s Russia–Ukraine War Archive

A catalog of over 100 articles (many with Ukrainian translations) on the Russia Ukraine War -- law, diplomacy, policy options, and more.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy leaves after a hearing in his trial on charges of illegal campaign financing from Libya for his successful 2007 presidential bid, at the Tribunal de Paris courthouse in Paris, on March 27, 2025. French prosecutors requested on March 27, 2025, a seven-year prison sentence for former president Nicolas Sarkozy in his trial on charges of accepting illegal campaign financing in an alleged pact with the late Libyan dictator. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images)

The Sarkozy-Gaddafi Trial Exposes Corruption’s Devastating Effect on Libyans

Alongside its democratic commitments, France should also reckon with the human rights consequences of its Libya foreign policy and interference in the post-Sarkozy era.
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