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The International Law Of Prolonged Sieges And Blockades: Gaza As A Case Study, Eyal Benvenisti

International Law Studies

In 2007, after Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip, the area was subjected to an Israeli land siege, complemented in 2009 by a sea blockade. Since then, the already-dire living conditions in the Strip have declined consistently and the area’s dependence on external aid has grown. This essay examines the duties of a military power in imposing what is effectively a years-long confinement of people and outlines a general argument for expanding the obligations of a party that imposes a prolonged siege or blockade. I consider these obligations in light of three potentially relevant legal frameworks: the law of occupation; …

When Things Go Awry: Command Responsibility, Death Marches, And Unforeseeable Circumstances, Amos N. Guiora, Nathan H. Jackson

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Although the events of the past year are in many ways unprecedented, they have resulted in circumstances that are common throughout history. The rise of a global pandemic has led to suffering in many forms, political powers shifting, militant coups rising, and countries facing protests as civil unrest becomes more prevalent. In these uncertain times, political leaders and the role of militaries have been even more scrutinized, revealing flaws that might have remained undetected if it was not for circumstances going awry. These current events have caused us to reflect upon incidents of the past when commanders have faced the …

The Elor Azaria Case And The Murderer Or Hero Dilemma, Amos N. Guiora

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

On Thursday morning, March 24, 2016, Israel Defense Forces Sergeant Elor Azaria killed a severely wounded Palestinian terrorist, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif who was incapacitated when mortally shot. For this act, Azaria was convicted of manslaughter by a military court and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment subsequently reduced by the IDF Chief of Staff, General Gadi Eizencot.

The decision to prosecute Azaria, his subsequent conviction and incarceration, rocked Israeli society reflecting deep fissures on powerful issues, including, but not limited to, what is the normative moral standard expected of soldiers in a non-traditional conflict. The title of this chapter-murderer or hero-is …

Searching For Accountability Under Fisa: Internal Separation Of Powers And Surveillance Law, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Climate-Induced Stressors To Peace: A Review Of Recent Literature, Ayyoob Sharifi, Dahlia Simangan, Chui Ying Lee, Rose Reyes, Tarek Katramiz, Jairus Carmela C. Josol, Leticia Dos Muchangos, Hassan Virji, Shinji Kaneko, Thea Kersti Tandog, Leorence Tandog, Moinul Islam

Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Climate change is increasingly recognized as a threat to global peace and security. This paper intends to provide a better understanding of the nature of interactions between climate change and events that undermine peace through a systematic review of recent literature. It highlights major methodological approaches adopted in the literature, elaborates on the geographic focus of the research at the nexus of climate change and peace, and provides further information on how various climatic stressors, such as extreme temperature, floods, sea-level rise, storms, and water stress may be linked to different events that undermine peace (e.g. civil conflict, crime, intercommunal …

Fulfilling Porter's Promise, Danielle Allyn

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Despite the Porter court’s reference to a “long tradition of according leniency to veterans,” in the criminal legal system, veterans are overrepresented on death rows across America, including Georgia’s. Most of these veterans come to death row with experiences of marginalization due to other aspects of their identity, such as race or mental disability.

This Article examines the cases of six men executed in Georgia, each with a history of military service, and each with experiences of disenfranchisement based on race and/or mental disability. At trial, each confronted legal risks that disproportionately place Black people and people with mental disabilities …

Invoke Your Right To Remain Silent After You Confess: Self-Reporting Regulations And Potential Conflicts With International Law Prohibiting Compulsory Self-Incrimination, Patrick Testa

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Is Climate Change A Threat To International Peace And Security?, Mark Nevitt

Michigan Journal of International Law

The climate-security century is here. Both the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (“IPCC”) and the U.S. Fourth National Climate Assessment (“NCA”) recently sounded the alarm on climate change’s “super-wicked” and destabilizing security impacts. Scientists and security professionals alike reaffirm what we are witnessing with our own eyes: The earth is warming at a rapid rate; climate change affects international peace and security in complex ways; and the window for international climate action is slamming shut.

Equal Supreme Court Access For Military Personnel, Brenner M. Fissell, Eugene R. Fidell, Phillip D. Cave

Faculty Publications

Federal law currently provides for direct Supreme Court review of criminal convictions from almost all American jurisdictions, but not of most court-martial convictions. For them, an Article I court can veto access to the Supreme Court. This Essay argues for elimination of that veto.

Justice Delayed, Justice Denied? The Search For Accountability For Alleged Wartime Atrocities Committed In Sri Lanka, Aloka Wanigasuriya

Pace International Law Review

During the final stages of its nearly three-decades-long civil war in 2009, Sri Lanka attracted considerable international attention due to the allegations of international crimes that were said to have been committed both by the Sri Lankan government Armed Forces, the Guerilla Force, and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). According to United Nations (UN) experts, an estimated 40,000 civilians were killed during the final offensive, which lasted from January to May 2009. However, the Sri Lankan government has set this figure at 9,000 with no civilian casualties. Several UN bodies found credible allegations that international crimes were committed …

Civil Disobedience From A Biblical Perspective, Gabriel Reed

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

To say that civil disobedience is a complicated topic is to severely understate the topic. It is a subject matter that has derived many different and disparate opinions, points of view, and public policies. Specifically, within America today, we observe calls for civil disobedience from both sides of the political spectrum, over several divergent political ideals. These issues are, primarily, driven from both sides’ desire to provide protection and provision for the oppressed and those who cannot necessarily speak for themselves. The definition of who is necessarily oppressed and whom their oppressors are varies from person to person, regardless of …

Transformative Disarmament: Crafting A Roadmap For Peace, Louise Arimatsu

International Law Studies

Notwithstanding their absence in the formal structures of power, women have engaged actively with disarmament for over a century. Their activism has been rich and complex. It is, however, not a history that is generally familiar to those outside the world of feminist activism and scholarship. This article tells the story of feminist activism and scholarship and how women have sought to overcome exclusion, marginalization, and silencing in both policy and law in pursuit of what the author describes as a transformative disarmament agenda. It is concerned not only with women’s political activism and the struggle for equal participation in …

Law School News: Adjunct Professor Of The Year 2021: David Coombs 05/19/2021, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Jdn 2-19: Hitting The Target But Missing The Mark, Ann Mezzell, J. Wesley Hutto

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Predoctrinal deliberations about the employment of the US armed forces, captured in Joint Doctrine Notes, remain critically understudied. Using comparative text analysis, this article identifies changes in recent Joint Doctrine Note depictions of military strategy. These changes risk distorting the logic of military strategy, sacrificing means-ends integration to organizational impulse, and raising the prospect of future shortfalls in US strategic effectiveness.

The Coercive Logic Of Militant Drone Use, Austin C. Doctor, James I. Walsh

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

While unmanned aerial systems can serve as a force multiplier for militants, these systems do not embody a transformation in modern insurgent warfare or enable militants to engage regularly in strategic coercion. Instead, drone use is consistent with a militant group’s relative capabilities and broader strategic objectives. Consequently, these groups are likely to employ drones primarily for theater and tactical military purposes.

Toward Successful Coin: Shining Path’S Decline, Darren Colby

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

The rapid decline of the Peruvian left-wing insurgent organization Sendero Luminoso was not only the result of the arrest of its leader. An analysis of the precipitous weakening of the organization using two social movement theories finds other factors were involved in the demise of the organization as well. These factors—participatory politics, support for the military among the rural population, and alienation of the population by Sendero Luminoso—provide insights to effective counterinsurgency tactics.

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Matthew Ridgway And The Value Of Persistent Dissent, Conrad C. Crane

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Army General Matthew Ridgway’s actions throughout his career provide a valuable example of the appropriate time and place for serious dissent by military leaders. Ridgway demonstrated the importance of selectively and pragmatically expressing open disagreement in response to operational decisions a military leader deems unnecessarily risk American lives and economic resources

Europe: A Strategy For A Regional And Middle Power, Jean-Yves Haine, Cynthia Salloum

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

As the European Union deals with yet another crisis— the COVID-19 pandemic—it must adopt a grand strategy based on unity, policy, and proportionality: cohesion over inaction, policy over process, and regional imperatives over global ambitions. An analysis of past strategy documents and a study of current international trends stress the need for a Union capable of shaping its own environment rather than reacting to it. The pandemic should accelerate Europe’s journey toward power maturity and responsibility.

Greater Security Cooperation: Us Allies In Europe And East Asia, Tongfi Kim, Luis Simón

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Growing Sino-Russian coordination necessitates greater security cooperation between US Allies in Europe and East Asia. US Allies in both regions face remarkably similar threats requiring similar operational concepts, capabilities, and technologies. Further, these Allies must hedge against the specter of US abandonment. An exploration of the links between the two geographically distant US Alliance networks illustrates the Allies’ perspectives on US extended deterrence and highlights opportunities to devise better policies for cooperation.