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Gavin Daly
| May 22, 2026 | AoW Posts, Blog, History of LOAC
The Sack of Cities: Laws of War and Evolving Attitudes in Historical Perspective Throughout most of Western history, stretching back to the Homeric tradition of Troy, the right to sack a besieged city that refused to surrender was part and parcel of the customary laws...
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Ronald Alcala
| Jan 28, 2026 | AoW Posts, Blog, Law of Armed Conflict, Targeting
Gamifying War: Reward Incentives and “Outlawry” in Armed Conflict Both sides of the Ukraine-Russia conflict maintain incentive programs that reward soldiers for kills on the battlefield. Russia offers monetary bonuses for the destruction of enemy equipment, such as...
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Bryan Peeler
| Jan 2, 2026 | AoW Posts, Blog, Law of Armed Conflict
Reciprocity Without Retaliation: Rethinking Fairness in the Laws of War Editors’ note: This post is the second in a series relating to the author’s book, The Persistence of Reciprocity in International Humanitarian Law, published by Cambridge University Press. The...
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Bryan Peeler
| Nov 14, 2025 | AoW Posts, Blog, Compliance, Law of Armed Conflict
Why Reciprocity Refuses to Die: The Enduring Logic of Fairness in War International humanitarian law (IHL) is often described as a triumph of principle over pragmatism; a set of rules meant to restrain war even when all else is breaking down. After all, the Geneva...
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Dan E. Stigall
| Oct 3, 2025 | AoW Posts, Blog, History of LOAC
The Rousseau-Portalis Doctrine: French Legal Thought and the Law of War – Part II Editors’ note: This is the second in a two-part post illustrating the impact of French legal thought on the formation of the law of war with a specific focus on the...
