Military, War, and Peace Commons^™

Russia's Frozen Conflicts And The Donbas, Erik J. Grossman

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

An Environmental No Man's Land: The Often Overlooked Consequences Of Armed Conflict On The Natural Environment, Evan Frauhiger

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Special Issue: The Law Of Armed Conflict, Ben Wahlhaus, Hannah Lidicker

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Few areas of international law are as consequential as the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC). At its very core, it entails an endeavor to regulate death and destruction both for those who participate in a conflict and for those who are simply affected by the conflict.

LOAC is also of continued relevance. The number of armed conflicts around the world does not seem to be on the wane, and thus there is no shortage of situations in which LOAC remains applicable.

Just as the law retains its consequence and relevance, the study of LOAC retains its importance. Old questions warrant …

We're Not In Beersheba Anymore: Discussing Contemporary Challenges In The Law Of Armed Conflict With 120 International Lawyers, Sharon Afek

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This first-hand account encapsulates the nature of the Battle of Beersheba. It saw uniformed soldiers fight other uniformed soldiers from an organized and hierarchical military. The battle took place in the open terrain of the desert. There was a clear frontline, entirely separate from the civilian life in the nearby town of Beersheba. The battle, and the wider war of which it was a part, was clearly delineated in its start and end. The Battle of Beersheba enabled the Allied forces to break the Ottoman line and advance northwards, eventually beating out the Ottoman Empire and permanently changing the geopolitical …

The Internationalists: How A Radical Plan To Outlaw War Remade The World, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Journal Articles

Mary Ellen O'Connell researches and writes in the areas of international law and the use of force and international legal theory. She provides a thorough review of The Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to Outlaw War Remade the World, Oona A. Hathaway and Scott J. Shapiro (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2017), wherein the authors investigate the investigate the history, nature, and impact of the international legal prohibition on the use of force, focusing on the Kellogg-Briand Pact.

Book Review, Anna Spain Bradley

Publications

No abstract provided.

Contrasting Perspectives And Preemptive Strike: The United States, France, And The War On Terror, Sophie Clavier

Maine Law Review

A few years ago, Samuel P. Huntington's article in Foreign Affairs, "The Clash of Civilizations?" described a "West vs. the Rest" conflict leading to the assumption of an essentially unified Western civilization settling "[g]lobal political and security issues ... effectively ... by a directorate of the United States, Britain and France" and centered around common core values "using international institutions, military power and economic resources to run the world in ways that will . . . protect Western interests . . . .” Against the West, the specter of disorder and fundamentalism was looming and would precipitate conflicts. This widely …

Unilateral And Multilateral Preventive Self-Defense, Stéphanie Bellier

Maine Law Review

The governing principle of the collective security system created by the United Nations Charter in 19451 is the rule prohibiting the use of force in Article 2(4), which provides that "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purpose of the United Nations." This rule prohibiting the use of force was considered revolutionary at the time because it transformed into international law ideas which had for centuries, if not millennia, preoccupied the minds of people …

Legal Formalism Meets Policy-Oriented Jurisprudence: A More European Approach To Frame The War On Terror, Julien Cantegreil

Maine Law Review

Myres S. McDougal, the leader of the New Haven School of International Law (NHSIL), advanced a comprehensive and iconoclastic conception of international law and its goals, one whose continuing influence is well-known today: a visceral rule-skepticism that even his least fervent disciples would never renounce. McDougal’s conception of international law and its goals is fundamentally different from the normativist view of Hans Kelsen, which has been and continues to be enormously influential throughout continental Europe, particularly in France. In the portion of his 1953 course at The Hague Academy of International Law devoted to Kelsen’s canonical Legal Technique in International …

Possible Changes To U.S. Policies On The Use Of Force In Counterterrorism Operations, American Civil Liberties Union (Aclu), Amnesty International, Center For Civilians In Conflict (Civic), Center For Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Clinic, Coalition For Peace Action, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, Interfaith Network On Drone Warfare, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Open Society Foundations, Openthegovernment

Human Rights Institute

We write today to express our deep concern regarding reports that the administration is considering weakening current policy standards for the use of force in counterterrorism operations.

Brief Amici Curiae On Behalf Of International And Constitutional Law Experts In Support Of Petition For Certiorari, Al Bahlul V. United States , 840 F.3d 757 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (En Banc), Robert D. Sloane, Foley Hoag Llp

Faculty Scholarship

Amici curiae, legal experts in international and constitutional law, believe that a majority of the en banc panel in Bahlul v. United States, 840 F.3d 757 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (en banc), mistakenly affirmed Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul’s conviction by a military commission for a non-international war crime. The main concurring opinion in that case misconceived how international law defines the jurisdiction of law-of-war military commissions. As amici argue below, it is the Constitution—not international law—that limits the jurisdiction of lawof-war military commissions.

Legal Status Of Drones Under Loac And International Law, Vivek Sehrawat

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

The International Criminal Court In Africa: Impartiality, Politics, Complementarity And Brexit, Bartram Brown

All Faculty Scholarship

I have known and been inspired by Henry J. Richardson III and his scholarship for many years. A hallmark of his work has been his focus upon African-American interests in international law and also upon the rights and interests of African states. In acknowledgement of that intellectual debt, it is my honor to dedicate the following article to this festschrift celebrating his life and work.

Constructing Citizenship Through War In The Human Rights Era, Timothy W. Waters

Articles by Maurer Faculty

War's historical relationship to the creation of territorial nation-states is well known, but what empirical and normative role does war play in creating the citizen in a modern democracy? Although contemporary theories of citizenship and human rights do not readily acknowledge a legitimate, generative function for war - as evidenced by restrictions on aggression, annexation of occupied territory, expulsions, denationalization, or derogation of fundamental rights - an empirical assessment of state practice, including the interpretation of international legal obligations, suggests that war plays a powerfully transformative role in the construction of citizenship, and that international law and norms implicitly accept …

Ngo Statement On Reported Changes To U.S. Policy On Use Of Armed Drones And Other Lethal Force, American Civil Liberties Union (Aclu), Amnesty International, Center For Civilians In Conflict (Civic), Center For Constitutional Rights, Coalition For Peace Action, Friends Committee On National Legislation, Human Rights Clinic, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, Interfaith Network On Drone Warfare, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Open Society Foundations, Reprieve

Human Rights Institute

The Trump administration’s failure thus far to release and explain the changes it has made to a previously public policy is a dangerous step backwards. Transparency around the use of lethal 2 force is critical to allowing independent scrutiny of the lawfulness of operations and to providing accountability and redress for victims of violations of international law. Transparency also helps governments identify and address civilian harm. It enables the public to be informed about some of the most important policy choices the government makes in its name – ones that involve life and death decisions. While transparency can enhance the …

Grave Breaches: American Military Intervention In The Late Twentieth- Century And The Consequences For International Law, Calla Cameron

CMC Senior Theses

The duality of the United States’ relationship with international criminal law and human rights atrocities is a fascinating theme that weaves through all of American history, but most distinctly demonstrates the contradictory nature of American foreign policy in the latter half of the 20th century. America is both protector of human rights and perpetrator of human rights atrocities, global police force and aggressor. The Cold War exacerbated the tensions caused by American military dominance. The international political and physical power of the American military allowed the United States to do as it pleased in the 20th century with few consequences, …

Book Review, Anna Spain Bradley

Publications

No abstract provided.

Blood Antiquities: Addressing A Culture Of Impunity In The Antiquities Market, Paul Williams, Christin Coster

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

For decades, parties to conflicts have used the cover of war to destroy and loot cultural property and antiquities for financial gain and symbolic victory. The “blood antiquities” excavated in conflict areas and sold mostly in western markets fuel not only continued conflict, but also (as in cases such as Syria and Iraq) terrorism that can reach around the world. The culture of impunity for both buyers and sellers of antiquities allows the blood-antiquities trade to thrive.

A robust international legal framework does exist to ensure accountability for the destruction of cultural heritage. Because looting is a major cause of …

Anonymous Armies: Modern “Cyber-Combatants” And Their Prospective Rights Under International Humanitarian Law, Jake B. Sher

Pace International Law Review

Cyber-attacks take many forms, only some of which are applicable to the law of war. This Comment discusses only those attacks sponsored by a government or non-state entity that have the goal of affecting morale or gaining political advantage, or those attacks amounting to tactical strikes on state or civilian infrastructure. In that vein, this Comment proposes the adoption of a new legal framework for determining the threshold that marks a participant in such a cyber-attack as a “cyber-combatant” by adapting the framework set by the Geneva Conventions and existing custom. This definition should encompass cyber-attacks perpetrated by states, unrecognized …

“I Must Tell The Whole World”: Septimus Smith As Virginia Woolf’S Legal Messenger, Riley H. Floyd

Indiana Law Journal

This Note explores the disjunctive moral gap between a civilian ethic of mutual responsibility and the laws of war that eschew that ethic. To illustrate that gap, this Note conducts a case study of Virginia Woolf’s rendering of shell shock in her 1925 novel Mrs. Dalloway. The war put mass, mechanized killing at center stage, and international law permitted killing in war. But Woolf’s character study of Septimus Smith reveals that whether war-associated killing is “criminal” requires more than legal analysis. An extralegal approach is especially meaningful because it demonstrates the difficulty of processing and rationalizing global conflict that plays …

#Lawyeringpeace: The Role Of Lawyers In Peacebuilding, Paul Williams, Christin Coster

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Based on the Public International Law & Policy Group’s (“PILPG”) two decades of experience assisting countries and clients in conflict situations, it is clear there are a number of ways for lawyers and international law to promote peacebuilding. This article condenses information shared during the International Law Weekend panel, “International Law and States in Emergency: Responses and Challenges.” The focus of the presentation was how lawyers can and should make a difference in peacebuilding and post-conflict constitution drafting. The world needs more lawyers to “lawyer peace” by assisting countries and clients involved in ongoing conflicts or in peace negotiations. In …

Presidential War Powers As A Two-Level Dynamic: International Law, Domestic Law, And Practice-Based Legal Change, Curtis A. Bradley, Jean Galbraith

Faculty Scholarship

There is a rich literature on the circumstances under which the United Nations Charter or specific Security Council resolutions authorize nations to use force abroad, and there is a rich literature on the circumstances under which the U.S. Constitution and statutory law allows the President to use force abroad. These are largely separate areas of scholarship, addressing what are generally perceived to be two distinct levels of legal doctrine. This Article, by contrast, considers these two levels of doctrine together as they relate to the United States. In doing so, it makes three main contributions. First, it demonstrates striking parallels …

Obama's Aumf Legacy, Curtis A. Bradley, Jack Landman Goldsmith

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Submarine Cables, Cybersecurity And International Law: An Intersectional Analysis, Tara Davenport

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Right To Act: United States Legal Basis Under The Law Of Armed Conflict To Pursue The Islamic State In Syria, Samantha Arrington Sliney

University of Miami National Security & Armed Conflict Law Review

Shortly after the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, the Islamic terror group ISIS captured the world’s attention with their rapid advance through Iraq and acts of severe brutality. In short order, the group captured large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and declared the formation of an Islamic State. With the integrity of Iraq in the balance, the United States committed to taking military action against ISIS but quickly discovered that as pressure was put on ISIS in Iraq they retreated into Syrian lands, where U.S. warplanes could not go.

This article explores the legal justifications for the …

International Law And Military Activities In Outer Space, Robert L. Bridge

Akron Law Review

The object of this review is to establish definitively the legal constraints which currently apply to military activities in space. Research has disclosed no single reference less than eight years old which examines all the issues to be discussed here. A great flurry of scholarly legal writing attended the launching of the Russian Sputnik in 1957, but comparatively little has been written since the late 1960's. Thus, much of the source material cited here is ten to fifteen years old.

An Interdisciplinary Approach To The Strategic Defense Initiative Debate, Scott F. March

Akron Law Review

An interdisciplinary framework in which international law is but one element is presented in this article in the hope of lending organization to the complex subject of space weaponization. Seven factors are discussed which strongly influence decision-makers in both the United States and the Soviet Union who are charged with establishing and implementing the military space policies of their respective nations. They are (1) the relationship between the militarization of earth and the militarization of space; (2) the effects of weapon technology and national defense policy upon the use of space; (3) the interrelationship of the international law-making process with …

International Humanitarian Law Divergence, Lesley Wexler

Pepperdine Law Review

How do states manage disagreements about the application and interpretation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL)? As countries find themselves embroiled in conflicts across the globe and in need of allies' political, economic, and military support, this question is important from a practical standpoint as well as a theoretical one. This essay provides one set of answers by looking at the United States’ approach to potential IHL disputes with its allies. It opens with an exploration of the issues most likely to create divergence: the existence, typology, and scope of armed conflicts; the interaction between IHL and International Human Rights Law, …

Lost In Translation? The Relevancy Of Kobe Bryant And Aristotle To The Legality Of Modern Warfare, Rachel E. Vanlandingham

Pepperdine Law Review

What do Kobe Bryant, Aristotle, and the continuing U.S. response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, have in common? President Barack Obama told the New Yorker in early 2014, in response to a question regarding the seeming resurgence of al Qaeda in Syria and Iraq, that “[t]he analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant.” As this example demonstrates, the Obama Administration and others, in reference to the legality of the use of armed force against al Qaeda and similar …

The Boundless War: Challenging The Notion Of A Global Armed Conflict Against Al-Qaeda And Its Affiliates, Andrew Beshai

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

The U.S. military response to the 9/11 attacks has expanded into a “global war” without a definite geographic scope. Both the Bush and Obama administrations have executed attacks in several countries including Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen under the “global war” paradigm. This Article challenges the concept of a global armed conflict, instead favoring the “epicenter-of-hostilities” framework for determining the legality of military action against Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other terrorist groups. This approach, rooted in established international law, measures the existence of specific criteria in each nation where hostile forces are present to determine if an armed conflict in …