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.

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3,077 Articles
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is joined by commission chair Harvard Professor Mary Ann Glendon while announcing the formation of a commission to redefine human rights, based on “natural law and natural rights”, during a news conference at the Department of State, on July 8, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Trump’s “Unalienable Rights” Commission Likely to Promote Anti-Rights Agenda 

On Monday, we learned who would be serving on the State Department's new "Commission on Unalienable Rights." The track records of the chair and the other members raise even further…
US army elite team members participate in the 2011 Commando Forces competition in San Salvador, on June 21, 2011.

The Massive Perils of the Latest U.N. Resolution on Terrorism

A newly proposed U.N. Security Council resolution expanding anti-terrorism requirements for member States targets the nexus with organized crime. But like so many counterterrorism…
General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Iran's Head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division, looks at debris from a downed US drone reportedly recovered within Iran's territorial waters and put on display by the Revolutionary Guard in the capital Tehran on June 21, 2019.

Self-Defense in International Law: What Level of Evidence?

With the question of whether Iran's actions justify the use of force, the issue of evidence is once again at the forefront of international debate. So, how much evidence does a…
Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi holds up maps of the Strait of Hormuz while speaking to the media before a meeting with other UN members on the escalating situation with the United States At United Nation headquarters on June 24, 2019 in New York City.

Iran’s Shifting Views on Self-Defense and ‘Intraterritorial’ Force

Iran’s justification for shooting down a US drone suggests a subtle shift in its understanding of international law.
Members of the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the "White Helmets", carry away a body on a stretcher following a reported government air strike in the village of Benin, about 30 kilometres south of Idlib in northwestern Syria, on June 19, 2019.

To Stem the Flow of Refugees, Address the Conflicts at Their Core

If the railing about migrants is genuine rather than politically convenient, it’s time to apply the prodigious talents, skills, and still surprisingly robust political capital…
Central American migrant families arrive at a Catholic Charities respite center after being released from federal detention on June 12, 2019, in McAllen, Texas.

Top Expert Backgrounder: Children in Immigration Detention — What are the International Norms?

Vice Chair of the United Nations Committee Against Torture, Felice Gaer, writing in her personal capacity.
Just Security

The Missing Piece in US-Iran Drone Dispute: Navigational Freedoms and the Strait of Hormuz

"Even if the drone flew only across 'international airspace,' significant legal questions arise as to whether its activities violated the rules for transit and what legal recourse…
A Casa 235 turboprop plane with registration number N168D taxis along a runway at Ruzyne Airport April 8, 2005 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Citizens to the UN: Investigate Our “Torture Chambers in the Sky”

On behalf of the North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture (NCCIT), a citizen-initiated truth panel, we just submitted a 35-page communication to 10 U.N. Special Rapporteurs…
Maps showing US and Iranian reports of drone paths.

Top Expert Backgrounder: Aborted U.S. Strike, Cyber Operation Against Iran and International Law

"It is difficult to definitely conclude that the proposed U.S. kinetic strikes would have been valid exercises of self-defense."
A person walks through the remains of the Al-Senidar Factory Complex in Sana’a, Yemen after a September 2016 airstrike involving a UK-made Raytheon-manufactured bomb destroyed large parts of the factory complex and damaged at least one house nearby.

U.K. Court Nixes Saudi Arms Sales–What it Means for the US and Other EU Countries

The court ruled, in essence, that in making decisions on arms sales, the U.K. government could no longer ignore uncomfortable facts. The result also could provide guidance to other…
Fire and smoke billowing from Norwegian owned Front Altair tanker said to have been attacked in the waters of the Gulf of Oman on June 13, 2019.

The State of Play with US-Iran and How We Got Here: Q&A with Laura Rozen

We asked Just Security’s Laura Rozen for her assessment of the current tension between the United States and Iran. Two key questions follow.
Just Security

Marik String Appointment as State Department’s Top Lawyer Raises Questions

As a former senior State Department official put it, “The idea that someone so few years out of law school, and not even practicing law for all that time, is in the office occupied…
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