At the crossroads of scholarship and practice
The Lieber Institute at West Point facilitates and contributes to the global dialogue on today’s most pressing and complex law of war issues. Through its research, publications, events and education, it strives to advance the understanding and maintain the primacy of law in today’s armed conflicts.
The Lieber Institute seeks to bridge the divide between legal scholarship and battlefield experience in the study of the law. It engages in innovative research and collaboration on multiple topics of legal study including targeting, detention, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and war crimes accountability.
Researching Cutting-edge Issues.
Promoting Understanding.
Empowering Combat Leaders.
Patriotic War: Total Defence, Resistance, and Additional Protocol I
Russia’s clear aggression towards Ukraine and its thinly veiled “hybrid war” against its other European neighbours has rightly caused alarm amongst these threatened States. European countries such as the Scandinavian and Baltic States, are adjusting “their national...
Modern Attack Balloons and the 1907 Hague Balloons Declaration
In the days leading up to the 1812 Battle of Borodino, Russia devised a plan to float a large shark-shaped hot air balloon over French forces to drop explosives. The balloon could not be made ready in time for the battle. When later ready, it collapsed as it left its...
Nuclear Weapons Part IV – A Postscript
Editors’ note: This is the fourth of a four-part post on legal considerations applicable to nuclear weapons. The first three posts in this series were completed on February 26, 2026, approximately 48 hours before the outbreak of the most recent period of hostilities...
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Volume 13
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