Use of Force
Can Israel Target Iran in Response to Houthi Attacks? Exploring the Threshold of “Substantial Involvement”
Following the Houthi missile attack on Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, May 4, 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate not only against the Houthis, but also against their “patron,” Iran, declaring that such action would take place “at a time...
Analyzing State Support to Non-State Actors – Part II: Response Options and Conflict Classification
As non-State actors assume an increasingly prominent role in international affairs, State support to them as a strategic tool for advancing political objectives has become more common. Such support presents significant challenges to the clear-eyed application of...
Analyzing State Support to Non-State Actors – Part I: Primary Obligations and Attribution
Today, armed conflicts are frequently characterized by State support to non-State actors as a means of advancing the former’s strategic objectives. For instance, Iran continues to enable Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthi, and other militia operations throughout the Middle East...
Deterrence Doesn’t Fly in Space: Nuclear Weapons in Outer Space as a Threat of Force
In an interview with German newspaper Die Welt on Friday April 12th, NATO Secretary-General Rutte expressed concern regarding the potential deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in orbit around Earth. While this possibility had already surfaced in 2024, as reported by...
Cross-Border Drone Strikes Against Mexican Drug Cartels
In April 2025, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations Colby Jenkins testified that U.S. forces did not have legal authority to conduct cross-border drone strikes against drug cartels in Mexico even though President Trump had designated several cartels...
Ukraine Symposium – Litigating the Act of Aggression as Human Rights Claims
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reports that since February 2022, there have been 40,176 verified civilian casualties caused by the conflict in Ukraine: 12,340 killed and 27,836 injured. The number of combatant casualties is much higher. President...
Dilemmas of Defense: The U.S. Role in the Iran-Israel Conflict
On April 13, 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran carried out an unprecedented operation, launching hundreds of drones and cruise missiles toward Israel. Reports indicate that Israel intercepted the majority of these drones and missiles with assistance from the United...
If the “Why” of War Shapes the “How” of Law, Who is Accountable?
The ongoing armed conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza illustrate the dangerous consequences of conflating jus ad bellum and jus in bello. This conflation risks undermining the universality of international humanitarian law (IHL) and reducing international criminal law (ICL)...
Israel’s Actions in Syria and the Outer Limits of Self-Defence
Following the fall of the al-Assad regime in Syria, Israel carried out a series of airstrikes across Syria targeting military facilities, weapons and ammunition depots, defence systems, and Syrian naval and aircraft fleets. The targets reportedly housed “chemical...
Taiwan Statehood (or not) and its Ramification for Armed Conflict
As outlined in a previous Articles of War post, the recent 2024 Lieber Workshop focused on international law and the future of multi-domain operations in the Indo-Pacific. One of the workshop’s panels featured rich discussions on the military and political situation...
Rules of Engagement in Large-Scale Combat Operations: Force Enabler or Much Ado About Nothing?
Rules of Engagement (ROE) have traditionally played a major role in the execution of military operations, particularly when a given situation has not reached the threshold of armed conflict. In more recent years, however, some military operations have used ROE to...
The Operational Consequences of Conflating the “Why” and “How” of War
In conflict, determining whose cause is “more just” can span the spectrum of opinion and complexity. For example, most States consider Ukraine to be the “victim” State in its international armed conflict (IAC) with Russia. Shortly after the invasion, the UN Security...
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