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Change And Continuity: Foreign Affairs And Procedure At The Supreme Court 2024–25, Margaret E. Mcguinness

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

The 100th anniversary of the founding of the Law School is a wonderful occasion to discuss how research and teaching form us as professors within the St. John’s community. I teach, research, and write about international law, international human rights, diplomacy, and the ways in which international law becomes law in the United States. I also teach civil procedure and international litigation. These two strands of my work allow me to think about the complex interplay between international law and domestic court procedure. I also have professional experience in each of these areas: First, as a career diplomat for …

Gendered Harms In Armed Conflict: International Legal Responses To The Gendered Effects Of The War In Sudan, Naima Dams

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis interrogates how international law conceptualizes, prosecutes, and ultimately limits the understanding of sexual violence in contexts of war and displacement. Drawing on feminist legal theory, postcolonial critique, and ethnographic fieldwork with Sudanese women displaced in Egypt, it questions the dominant legal framing of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) as episodic, exceptional, and individualized. Instead, it reveals sexual violence as structural, continuous, and embedded in the everyday realities of racialized, gendered, and colonial harm.

Through ethnographical narratives, the study exposes how survivors' experiences often exceed the legibility frameworks of humanitarian and legal institutions, which prioritize spectacular, forensic evidence over slow, …

Mandatory Cooperation Under International Law, Evan J. Criddle, Evan Fox-Decent

Faculty Publications

Humanity in the twenty-first century faces serious global challenges and crises, including pandemics, nuclear proliferation, violent extremism, refugee migration, and climate change. None of these calamities can be averted without robust international cooperation. Yet, national leaders often assume that because their states are sovereign under international law, they are free to opt in or out of international cooperation as they see fit. This book challenges conventional wisdom by showing that international law requires states to cooperate with one another to address matters of international concern – even in the absence of treaty-based obligations. Within the past several decades, requirements to …

From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Autumn 2025 issue of Parameters. We open with two In Focus commentaries. The first, “A Case for Military Proportionality: Disabling Nuclear Plants” by Henry Sokolski, offers practical ways in which military planners can disable civilian targets, such as nuclear infrastructure, without undermining operational goals, alliance cohesion, or long-term political objectives. Our second commentary, “The Consequences of Declining Patriotism in the United States” by Neil N. Snyder, presents findings from a national survey showing a decline in patriotism, especially among Generation Z nonveterans. His article highlights a growing civil-military values gap with implications for recruitment and national …

A Case For Military Proportionality: Disabling Nuclear Plants, Henry Sokolski

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This special commentary argues that striking nuclear and other hazardous civilian infrastructure is often militarily counterproductive and should be avoided not just for legal and moral reasons but because strikes can defeat achieving one’s war aims. Unlike most commentaries, which treat proportionality as an abstract legal constraint, this article shows how proportionality can serve as a concrete tool for winning wars and maintaining alliances. The article draws on military history, current targeting doctrines, and recent war games. The analysis gives military planners practical guidance for how and why to disable certain civilian targets without undermining their own operations.

Parameters Autumn 2025, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Exploiting Vulnerability: Human Trafficking As A Tool Of Genocide, Madison Bryant

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis examines the relationship between human trafficking and genocide, arguing that when trafficking is used with the intent to destroy a targeted group, it should be understood and prosecuted as an act of genocide. While international law traditionally treats genocide and human trafficking as distinct crimes, historical and contemporary evidence reveals significant overlap in their mechanisms, motivations, and outcomes. Through a thematic analysis of three case studies, this research demonstrates how trafficking has been systematically employed to further genocidal objectives, including displacement, exploitation, cultural erasure, and the destruction of communities. The case studies are the genocide of Indigenous peoples …

The Effectiveness Of International Courts In Contributing To Rebuilding And Resolving Conflicts In Societies Post-Genocide, Garrett Connely

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

In the aftermath of mass atrocities, international courts have emerged as key mechanisms for delivering justice and fostering post-conflict reconciliation. Rooted in the precedent set by the Nuremberg Trials after World War II, these institutions aim to prosecute crimes that often go beyond national legal systems. However, their effectiveness remains contested, largely due to their dependence on state cooperation and the complexity of post-conflict environments. This project examines the societal impact of international courts in two significant cases – Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Through a comparative analysis of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal …

Lawfare And Terrorism – Can Terrorism Justify The Use Of Force?, Joanna Siekiera

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

As the world became increasingly interconnected, the significance of international law has been augmented exponentially. International law encompasses a vast array of legal systems, written norms, and customary principles that govern the interactions between states, still being the primal and main norm creators, as well as to some extent international organizations, and other non-state actors (NSA) gaining more and more influence, and finally us - individuals. In recent times, the utilization of law as a tool of warfare has gained prominence, with public and private entities leveraging legal arguments and international institutions to achieve their military and political objectives. While …

The Frozen Sleeping Giant: How The U.S. Can Awaken To Arctic Challenges And Advance Its Northern Interests, Daniel White

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

For much of human history, the Arctic Ocean was persistently inaccessible to mass trade and transportation. With warming global temperatures, the ice of the Arctic Ocean is slowly giving way to navigable ocean, and creating new opportunities for states wanting to take advantage of the upcoming maritime access. With U.S. adversaries like Russia and China pursuing their Arctic interests, one would assume that the U.S. is hard at work at reinforcing its Arctic territory. Despite the United States being the global hegemon, scholars have remained puzzled as to why the U.S. has continued an apparent apathy towards the Arctic. This …

The “Gray Zone”: Safeguarding Diplomatic Premises From Attacks By Third Countries, Tim Streit

Human Rights Brief

Diplomatic inviolability is a key norm in international law which guarantees that a state receiving a diplomatic mission from another state will not intrude on the mission’s physical premises and will protect them from any invasion or damage. The concept predates even Hugo Grotius, the so-called “father of international law,” who in his own works referenced it as established practice in the diplomatic community. The receiving state’s obligations towards diplomatic missions in its territory were solidified in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in 1961. The same principles were later reiterated in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.4 Both treaties …

Double Standards In The Drug Trade: How European Nations Escape Sanctions While Senegal May Bear The Burden, Erin Soro

American University International Law Review

The focus of international drug control policies on sanctioning transit countries like Senegal for drug trafficking overlooks the significant role played by drug-consuming nations such as France and Spain. Despite a notable decrease in local drug consumption due to democratic progress and strong religious roots, Senegal remains a major transit hub for narcotics destined for Europe. This Comment argues that drug-consuming countries are equally culpable under international law and should face comparable sanctions to effectively address the global drug trade. This Comment highlights the imbalance in sanction implementation and advocates for a more equitable approach, recommending minimal sanctions for Senegal …

Prohibiting Threats Of Aggression, Edward T. Swaine

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Recent events, particularly Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have revived worries about the international regime regulating the use of force. Vastly less attention has been paid to what often precedes such attacks—threats to use force—and the prohibition on them. While the UN Charter and other legal instruments integrate the threats regime with the regime on actual uses of force, the two regimes are increasingly decoupled, in part because only one considers gradations: the use-of-force regime now identifies more serious variants like aggression and crimes of aggression; threats rules, by contrast, do not. This decoupling reflects real differences in the underlying wrongs, …

Existential Threats And Deterrence: Japan's Legal Pathway To Enhanced Collective Security In Asia, Nobuhisa Ishizuka

American University International Law Review

With the Japanese Cabinet’s decision in December 2022 to comprehensively upgrade Japan’s security posture, and its rapid build-up of its defense capabilities, Japan’s role in Asia’s security architecture has been undergoing a fundamental shift. This article places Japan’s 2015 Peace and Security Legislation in the context of the U.N. collective security system and argues that its most significant achievement has been to expand Japan’s power to engage more proactively in the Asian collective security order. To date, commentators have focused on the legislation’s role in expanding the Japanese constitution’s limitations on the use of force to permit collective self-defense. This …

In Violation Of Diplomatic Treaties: A Look Into Ecuador's Forced Extraction, Josie C. Tarin

American University International Law Review

In December 2023, former Vice-President of Ecuador, Jorge Glas, sought political asylum in the Mexican Embassy located in Quito, Ecuador. On April 5, 2024, following a week of political discourse between the Ecuadorian and Mexican governments, the Mexican government granted Glas political asylum. In their announcement, Mexico reminded Ecuador that the 1954 Caracas Convention on Diplomatic Asylum and the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations protected both Glas and the employees within the Mexican embassy. On the evening of Mexico’s announcement, Ecuadorian agents operating under executive authority entered the Mexican embassy without consent, injured an employee of the Mexican embassy …

The Legality Of Nuclear-Weapons Sharing Arrangements Under International Law: United States-Nato And Russia-Belarus, Anthony J. Colangelo

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This Essay argues that certain nuclear sharing agreements between nuclear and non-nuclear powers are legal under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This topic is highly important as Russia has announced its stationing of nuclear weapons in Belarus and Belarus has signaled its intent to use them.

The Evolving Landscape Of European Security: An Assessment Of Nato’S Posture And Deterrence Strategies In Response To The Russia-Ukraine War, Goddy U. Osimen, Oluwakemi Fulani, Nesochi Mogbolu

Journal of Strategic Security

The Russia-Ukraine War has reshaped Europe’s security landscape, leading to NATO’s most significant transformation since the Cold War. This study explores how the conflict has prompted NATO to realign its deterrence and defence strategies in response to Russia’s violations of international norms and changing battlefield dynamics. Employing a qualitative analysis of academic literature, official documents and credible reports, this study argues that NATO has shifted from assurance to a more assertive deterrence approach, enhancing its forward presence, increasing defence spending, and adopting effective new technologies. Key findings reveal important lessons about modern warfare, particularly the roles of artillery, unmanned systems, …

Enforcement Of International Human Rights Law: A Comparative Exploration Of Alternative Public Opinion Channels, A. Burcu Bayram, Eric Keels, Efe Tokdemir

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The existing scholarship implies different mechanisms for the enforcement of international human rights law through the domestic public opinion channel. In this research, we investigate the comparative influence of these alternative mechanisms in a cross-country setting. Using data from original survey experiments from the United States, Germany, and Turkey, we show that public concerns over human rights violations in foreign countries are highly politicised by strategic political relationships. Our results provide a fuller account of the specific micro-mechanisms through which the domestic public opinion channel most effectively constrains government action in enforcing international human rights law. Our findings suggest that …

The Price Of Consent, Zohra Ahmed

Faculty Scholarship

This Article demonstrates how hierarchies in the international economy and in international financial institutions have facilitated the U.S.-led Global War on Terror (GWOT). Using U.S.-Pakistan relations as a case study, it shows how the United States has deployed its powerful position at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to claim Pakistan's consent for its military activities in the region. In the GWOT's first decade, beginning in 2001, the United States openly sought forcible regime change, as in Afghanistan and Iraq; in its second and (now) third decades, the United States has waged covert counterinsurgency campaigns allegedly against militant groups in Muslim-majority …

From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Spring 2024 issue of Parameters. Readers will note a few differences in the formatting for this issue: we are now using endnotes instead of footnotes to facilitate switching from pdf to html via Adobe's Liquid App; also, readers will be able to click on each endnote number to view the full endnote and then switch back to the text to resume reading. Please drop us a note to let us know how you like the changes. More are coming!

Parameters Spring 2024, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

International Law, Self-Defense, And The Israel-Hamas Conflict, Eric A. Heinze

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article examines the international law of self-defense as it applies to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to determine whether the October 2023 attacks by Hamas against Israel can be interpreted under Article 51 of the UN Charter as an “armed attack” that gives Israel the right to use military force in self-defense against non-state actors. It situates the conflict within ongoing legal and political debates, shows how this conflict fits into a changing global reality where the most dangerous security threats do not exclusively emanate from other states and concludes that Israel’s resort to force in the current conflict appears …

An Icy Invasion: Russia's Seizure Of The Norwegian Waters In The Arctic, Margaret Turchinski

American University International Law Review

Russia is aiming to expand its power in the Arctic Circle by acquiring unrestricted access to hydrocarbon reserves off the coast of the Norwegian Archipelago of Svalbard. Two bodies of international law govern Svalbard. The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 ascertains Norway’s sovereignty over the archipelago and permits the signatory nations, including Russia, to conduct commercial activities on the land and in the “territorial waters”. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea establishes maritime zones that allow coastal states to claim exclusive rights to their territorial seas and continental shelf. Norway holds that “territorial waters” in the Svalbard …

Sticker Shock: The Icj, Russia, And A $300 Billion Price Tag For War, Caitlyn Quinn

American University National Security Law Brief

Ukraine has experienced unprecedented devastation since Russia launched a full scale invasion into its Eastern territory in February 2022. Thousands have been killed, and billions of dollars of infrastructure has been damaged. As a result, over the past three years, the international community has been evaluating ways to hold Russia accountable and to help rebuild Ukraine upon the cessation of the war. Billions of dollars in Russian Central Bank assets have been frozen, and multiple states have proposed seizing Russia’s frozen assets to meet these objectives. However, outright asset seizure presents genuine legal concerns about foreign sovereign immunity and may …

Into The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death: War Crimes Committed In Service Of Russia's Crusade To Destroy Ukraine, Chris Galarza

American University National Security Law Brief

When Russian tanks rolled across the border into Ukraine during the early morning of February 24, 2022, most in the American defense and diplomatic establishment were shocked and sure the war would be over in a few days. Credible open-source tactical and strategic analysis predicted that Ukraine’s regular military forces would be defeated in “days or weeks” as long as Russian military forces were determined to pursue their objectives. The United States Government was so sure that Kyiv was under imminent threat of capture that they offered to evacuate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy so that he could rule from exile, rather …

After Action: The U.S. Drone Program's Expansion Of International Law Justification For Use Of Force Against Imminent Threats, Elodie O. Currier

Vanderbilt Law Review

Until the 2000s, the United States' attempts to shift international legal norms on imminence to allow for greater use of armed force abroad were largely unsuccessful. In the past two decades, however, drone use and careful legal gamesmanship by U.S. officials have opened an unprecedentedly broad allowance for use of force in imminent self-defense. As drones become increasingly available to state and non-state actors, this permissive regime poses a threat to national and international security. This Note analyzes two decades of international customary law formation around drone use outside of armed conflict through a new lens post U.S.-withdrawal of Afghanistan. …

The Role Of International Law In The Russia-Ukraine War, Michael Kelly

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

International Law And The "New Cold War": An Opportunity For Reflection On International Law And The "Old" Cold War, Todd F. Buchwald

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Ukraine's Push To Prosecute Aggression: Implications For Immunity Ratione Personae And The Crime Of Aggression, Rebecca Hamilton

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine dates back to its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s southern peninsula, Crimea. It was Russia’s brazen full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, however, that captured global attention and put the crime of aggression – the resort to war in violation of the UN Charter3 – in the spotlight.

Deepfake Fight: Ai-Powered Disinformation And Perfidy Under The Geneva Conventions, David Nicholas Allen

Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies

Deception and disinformation are as much a part of the battlefield as bullets and bombs. However, just like with bullets and bombs, if the law does not properly regulate a capability’s use the capability could degrade faith in the law. In this respect, this paper examines deepfake technology, a modern artificial intelligence-based capability that can generate superficially-perfect yet wholly invented media content. The paper looks ahead to its potential future applications in armed conflict, processes the ways in which current law contemplates such deception, and distills recommendations for improving governance where needed.