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.

Highlights:

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.
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.
The Just Security Podcast

The Just Security Podcast: Trump’s Shift on Ukraine and Russia — A Conversation with Amb. Daniel Fried and Dara Massicot

Viola Gienger is joined by Ambassador Daniel Fried and Dara Massicot to discuss Trump’s policy shift on Ukraine and its impact.
US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Camille Shea (R) speaks during a Security Council Meeting as Iranian UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani (L) looks on.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nominee Waltz Faces Senate Vote as the Global Body Reels

If confirmed, Michael Waltz will send crucial signals about the Trump administration's plans, beyond big budget cuts, for the world body.
Families and local residents pay their respects, offer prayers, and attach flowers to a truck carrying the coffins of seven newly identified victims of the Srebrenica genocide, as it departs for the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center on July 9, 2025 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the end of the Bosnian War, and July 11th is the anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre. On that day in 1995, Bosnian Serb forces captured the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, then a U.N.-protected enclave. They began killing over 8,000 Muslim men and boys (Bosniaks) in what became known as the Srebrenica Massacre. The bodies were found in mass graves after the war had ended, and in 2004, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) defined the killings as genocide. (Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images)

Thirty Years After the Srebrenica Genocide: Remembrance and the Global Fight Against Denial

The 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide is not only a historical point, but also a marker in an ongoing war against denial -- of that and so many other atrocities.
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.
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3,232 Articles
In this picture taken on March 5, 2025, Afghan niqab-clad women walk along a street on the outskirts of Kabul. Since the Taliban came back to power in Kabul in August 2021, they have imposed broad restrictions on women based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Women have been squeezed out of public life in what the United Nations has labelled "gender apartheid." (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Gender Apartheid Should Be an International Crime

All States should ensure the inclusion of gender apartheid in international law, including in the draft crimes against humanity treaty.

Manifestly Illegal: Israeli International Law Scholars on the Stated Plan to “Concentrate” the Palestinian Population in South Gaza

Israeli international law scholars send urgent letter to Israel’s Minister of Defense, the IDF Chief of Staff, the Attorney General.
A woman poses for pictures next to the HQ-9B surface-to-air missile system (L) and the HQ-19 surface-to-air missile system during the 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, in southern China's Guangdong province on November 15, 2024. (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Future of Arms Control: Time for a New Strategic Framework

Arms control must evolve from a legacy tool of superpower rivalry to a modern instrument of strategic risk management. That work must begin now.
The Just Security Podcast

The Just Security Podcast: The Srebrenica Genocide 30 Years On–Remembrance and Prevention in Bosnia and Beyond

Host Viola Gienger is joined by Sead Turcalo, Velma Saric, and Jacqueline Geis to discuss Srebrenica and the impact of genocide denial.
Taliban security personnel keep watch after the Eid al-Adha prayers at a checkpoint in Kabul on June 7, 2025. (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

The Taliban’s Slow Dismantling of Afghan Media

The slow death of Afghan media is a tragedy not just for the many brave Afghan journalists, but for the country as a whole.
The Just Security Podcast

The Just Security Podcast: Unpacking the European Court of Human Rights Decision on Russia’s Violations in Ukraine

Tom Dannenbaum, Rebecca Hamilton, and Ryan Goodman break down the ECHR's judgement in Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia.

Our Duty to Explain Israel’s Operation to “Concentrate and Move Population” in Gaza is a Manifest War Crime

We wrote this essay to fulfill our human, conscientious, and civic duty, as Israelis – and as Zionists – who have expertise in areas related to the IDF’s order.
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's nuclear program 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.
Protesters take part in a demonstration against violence against minorities in Syria, with reports saying attacks have killed more than 1,000 mostly Alawite civilians, with Christians being caught up in a wave of violence, outside the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, on March 15, 2025. Protesters carried signs with slogans such as "Stop the slaughter, no more bloodshed" and "Just one of the massacres." Many held up photographs of bodies lying in the streets, emphasizing the brutality of the ongoing conflict. (Photo by PHIL NIJHUIS/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s Not Too Late for States Parties to Fulfill the Promise of the International Criminal Court: Three Actions They Should Take Now

The ICC might still play a role in walking humanity back from the brink, if States can find the political will to respect and strengthen the work of the Court.
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - JUNE 26: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine turns to watch a video of a bombing test of the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) used in the attack on the Iranian Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant during a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on June 26, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The Department of Defense top officials gave an update after three Iranian nuclear facilities were struck by the U.S. military last weekend and Iran countered by launching missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The U.S. Attack on Iran Was Unconstitutional

Trump’s strike on Iran violated constitutional limits on the president's unilateral power to take the nation to war—an authority the Framers reserved for Congress.
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.
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