Articles of War
Built Without a Battlefield: Challenges of a Cold Case War Crimes Prosecution
Australian authorities recently arrested Ben Roberts-Smith for war crimes including multiple unlawful killings of prisoners and non-combatants. Roberts-Smith, long regarded as one of Australia’s most decorated soldiers and a national celebrity, was previously awarded...
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Assessing the Ottawa Anti-Personnel Mine Convention Withdrawals
As security along their borders has deteriorated, Eastern European, Baltic, and Nordic States have scrambled to update and adapt their national defense strategies. Nearly all these States have publicly committed to significantly increase defense spending. To...
Nuclear Weapons Part III – What Is To Be Done?
Editors’ note: This is the third of a four-part post on legal considerations applicable to nuclear weapons. If the prospects for significant nuclear...
No New Rules Needed: Russia’s Minimalist Vision of Human Oversight for LAWS
With the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) having...
The Tin Can Ruse: Lawful Deception or Prohibited Treachery?
The law of armed conflict has always drawn an uncomfortable line between cunning and criminality. Commanders who deceive the enemy are celebrated;...
Nuclear Weapons Part II – Can an Arms Race Be Stopped?
Editors’ note: This is the second of a four-part post on legal considerations applicable to nuclear weapons. In the first part of this post, the...
Through the Looking Glass, Again: The Caroline Standard and a General Framework for Necessity-Based Self-Defense
“Why, it's a Looking-glass book, of course! And if I hold it up to a glass, the words will all go the right way again.” — Lewis Carroll, Through the...
Fighting at Machine Speed: AI and U.S. Army Counterfire Under the Law of War – Part II
Part I of this post explained the growing relevance of counterfire operations, challenges that accompany carrying them out, and potential...
Fighting at Machine Speed: AI and U.S. Army Counterfire Under the Law of War – Part I
A strategic shift in national security priorities from counterinsurgency operations to great-power competition and conflict has exposed significant...
Ukraine’s Suspension of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention
On July 17, 2025, Ukraine suspended operation of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Oslo-Ottawa Convention) and notified other State Parties...
Challenging Common Assumptions About Civilian Protection in Large-Scale Combat Operations
Preparations for large-scale combat operations (LSCOs) by the U.S. military and other NATO militaries have led to a debate—no doubt familiar to...
Nuclear Weapons Part I – Opposing Perspectives
Editors’ note: This is the first of a four-part post on legal considerations applicable to nuclear weapons. This post will explore the fundamental...
Human Oversight with Chinese Characteristics: Lethal Autonomous Weapons in the CCW GGE
The rapid rise of AI in warfare has thrust Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) squarely into the spotlight of international humanitarian law...
Putting the Canadian in IHL: The Canadian Handbook on International Humanitarian Law
The International Committee of the Red Cross observes that “[t]he rules of war are universal.” Few would dispute that as a general statement,...
