International Law
Just Security offers expert analysis of international law and its role in addressing global challenges. Our coverage includes litigation in international and regional tribunals, the process of international law-making, analysis of compliance and accountability for international law violations–including international criminal justice, and challenges to the international legal order.
3,512 Articles

The Short Fuse: Autocrats, Hate Speech and Political Violence
“When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” It took three and a half years into his presidency, but Twitter finally flagged one of President Donald Trump’s tweets as…

The UN Cannot Live on Past Laurels: The Time for Courageous Leadership on Anti-Black Racism Is Now
The U.N. and its specialized agencies must take action to redress anti-Black racism within and beyond its institutional walls.

The Caesar Sanctions Help Reinforce Norms Enshrined in International Law
Raising questions about the potential harmful effects of sanctions on civilians is an honorable task. As is ensuring that the sanctions meted out by the United States are backed…

Questions the Senate Should Ask State Legal Adviser Nominee CJ Mahoney
The State Department Legal Adviser is the most senior U.S. lawyer responsible for ensuring the United States upholds its international legal obligations, which is now, more than…

Transitional Justice in the United States
Transitional justice provides an important lens for ongoing national conversations in the United States about police brutality and racial injustice. Transitional justice asks us…

Trump’s Latest Assault on Asylum Has Nothing to Do with National Security or Public Health
Last Thursday the Trump administration issued the latest in a long line of administrative rules that unlawfully ban and punish asylum seekers and others pursuing related humanitarian…

Secretary Pompeo’s Surprising Defense of International Law, Allies, and the Law of the Sea Convention
Sec. Pompeo's statement on China's excessive maritime claims is right in substance, but it showcases the schizophrenic U.S. approach to its allies, the law of the sea, and international…

Trail Smelter Arbitration Offers Little Guidance for COVID-19 Suits against China
On June 23, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held an extraordinary hearing on whether to amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) in order to permit domestic lawsuits…

How the Financial Systems America Built Enable Oppression Abroad
Congress may have a new opportunity to tackle this complicity with a proposed amendment to the NDAA on beneficial ownership.

Does Transitional Justice Belong in the United States?
The first piece in our Racing National Security Symposium explains why transitional justice belongs in the United States.

Racing National Security: Introduction to the Just Security Symposium
How does race manifest in national security?

Denial of the Srebrenica Genocide Must Be Exposed and Condemned
Imagine the international outrage if murals of Hitler were displayed across Germany, or if a Berlin student dorm were named after Eichmann. Precisely this type of scenario has…