On 19-20 May, the University of Texas at Austin Strauss Center for International Security and Law and the U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command, with support from the Lieber Institute, hosted the Fourth Annual Future Warfare and the Law Symposium.

After more than a decade, there has been another rise in the practice of #recognition of statehood, chiefly in response to the #Gaza War. Robert Kolb and Pavle Kilibarda reflect on the legal effects of recognition of States and its value for #IHL. lieber.westpoint.edu/statehood-co...

Recent conflicts have prompted debate about the legality of directing attacks against “dual-use” objects. Such attacks could be analyzed under the law on dual-purpose attacks, argues Mark Lattimer. lieber.westpoint.edu/dual-use-obj...

Haiti’s armed violence and humanitarian crisis remain acute. As the crisis goes on, the question remains whether the violence between the Haitian security forces and the gangs, meets the threshold of a #NIAC, thereby triggering the application of #IHL. lieber.westpoint.edu/haitis-gang-...

As #AI becomes more deeply embedded in military operations, war risks becoming more expansive & less visible. Jessica Dorsey & Luke Moffett explain, warification challenges us to see these developments as part of a broader transformation. lieber.westpoint.edu/warification...

European States share a principled commitment to meaningful human control over #LAWS, yet this apparent unity coexists with significant variation in strategic cultures and persistent transatlantic technological dependence, explains Gerald Mako. lieber.westpoint.edu/unity-princi...

Contrary to popular conceptions, many armies, including the Swiss Army, prepare actively to apply #IHL in war. Robert Kolb explains Swiss Army’s detailed #targeting chart to guide application of IHL during military operations. lieber.westpoint.edu/targeting-sw...

The relationship between the existence of an IAC and the legality of the UOF remains practically intertwined. Whether/to what extent the continuation of an existing IAC affects the need for a separate JAB analysis remains underexplored, explains Olivia Flasch. lieber.westpoint.edu/revisiting-a...

The U.S. has maintained a consistent and clearly articulated position in the CCW GGE: human responsibility for the use of force must remain with commanders and operators. Gerald Mako and Aasim Al-Thani explore the U.S. position. lieber.westpoint.edu/human-respon...

A fundamental element of #totaldefense is preparing to resist #invasion. This includes preparing #resistance groups to operate in #occupied territory. Kenneth Watkin discusses the impact of AP I on total defense efforts to resist Russian aggression. lieber.westpoint.edu/patriotic-wa...

During its ongoing defensive war, Ukraine has sent #balloons with GPS triggers, armed with explosives, and carrying drones to attack Russia. Their wider adoption presents an interesting international law question for some States, argues Ted Richard. lieber.westpoint.edu/modern-attac...

The global instability that we are currently witnessing suggests that #nuclear and general #disarmament are “taking a back seat.” William Boothby discusses in this postscript the impact that recent armed conflicts have on nuclear disarmament. lieber.westpoint.edu/nuclear-weap...

Like hidden bunkers blended in the landscape, the operation of general principles of law in #IHL is not conspicuous at first glance. Robert Kolb and Aymeric Hêche examine the relevance of them, particularly through the example of #acquiescence. lieber.westpoint.edu/matter-princ...

#ICC convicted #AliKushayb of multiple war crimes & crimes against humanity. Evin Stovall & Hitoshi Nasu argue that the increasingly formulaic mode of adjudication risks substituting schematic legal constructs for substantive evaluation of battlefield conduct. lieber.westpoint.edu/guilty-unles...

The ILC has recently concluded its 2nd reading of Draft Articles on Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction. Tal Mimran & Esther Halfon ask whether the project forms a codification of existing law or a progressive development of IL. lieber.westpoint.edu/ilc-draft-ar...

Sally Longworth explains that addressing #propaganda in #armedconflict requires a fine balance to ensure all applicable obligations are upheld, but upholding this balance can help address some of the damage to the broader legal framework. lieber.westpoint.edu/propaganda-a...

Australian authorities recently arrested #BenRobertsSmith for war crimes. Caitlin Chiaramonte and Matt Montazzoli analyze the difficulties of prosecutions of this kind. They conclude that accountability for war crimes in such cases is not guaranteed. lieber.westpoint.edu/built-withou...

If prospects for significant #nuclear #disarmament in 2026 do not appear to be particularly rosy, can anything be done to row the world back from the nuclear precipice? The answer would seem to be yes, argues William Boothby, but realism will be important. lieber.westpoint.edu/nuclear-weap...

When armed groups/hackers/private military companies violate international law, who is responsible? Jennifer Maddocks's new book 'Attribution of Non-State Actor Conduct During Armed Conflict' explains when States are legally responsible for proxy actors. global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Russia’s stance on #LAWS presents a curious exercise in legal consistency, explains Gerald Mako. lieber.westpoint.edu/no-new-rules...

A century-old trench anecdote reveals how LOAC draws the line between lawful #ruses and prohibited #perfidy. The same question endures: does the ruse invite reliance on a legal protection, or merely exploit the enemy’s ordinary situational expectations? lieber.westpoint.edu/tin-can-ruse...

Can a #nuclear #armsrace be stopped? In the second part of his post, William Boothby analyzes further manifestations of the dichotomy of views as to the lawfulness of possessing the instruments that would generate catastrophic consequences. lieber.westpoint.edu/nuclear-weap...

How we think about #selfdefense under international law boils often down to a single word - imminence. Thomas W. Oakley argues that imminence is the wrong lense. The right lense is #necessity. lieber.westpoint.edu/through-look...

Integrating #AI into #counterfire offers armies a credible way to compress the sensor-to-shooter cycle without departing from existing law of war requirements. Newly fielded and emerging AI systems do not change what the law demands, argues Megan Ezekannagha. lieber.westpoint.edu/fighting-mac...

By providing commanders with real-time airspace awareness, automated deconfliction, and AI-generated courses of action, systems such as MSS, TITAN, and ASTARTE not only accelerate counterfire but reshape the decision environment, explains Megan Ezekannagha. lieber.westpoint.edu/fighting-mac...

On July 17, 2025, #Ukraine suspended operation of the #OttawaConvention. As Robert Kolb explains, Ukraine’s suspension is problematic from the standpoint of the law of treaties. lieber.westpoint.edu/ukraines-sus...

Preparations for #LSCOs have led to a debate about #civilian protection obligations under #LOAC. But what if the debate is based on a series of false premises, asks Mark Lattimer. lieber.westpoint.edu/challenging-...

While there is likely to be general agreement among States that the consequences of an actual employment of a #nuclearweapon are likely to be dire, there is a fundamental dichotomy of views as to the lawfulness of possessing them, explains William Boothby. lieber.westpoint.edu/nuclear-weap...

China has held to a clear line when it comes to #LAWS: such systems must stay under Meaningful Human Control #MHC if they are to meet #IHL standards. Gerald Mako explores in his post the Chinese approach to lethal autonomous weapons systems and IHL. lieber.westpoint.edu/human-oversi...

The Canadian Handbook on International Humanitarian Law makes visible a Canadian approach to #IHL that has remained largely dispersed, inaccessible, and unarticulated, explain Christopher Waters, Steve Tiwa Fomekong and Catherine Gribbin. lieber.westpoint.edu/putting-cana...

El Mencho’s killing is a stress test for the #Mexico–#cartel #NIAC debate, illustrating why classification cannot turn on labels or a single spectacular raid, but must rest on sustained intensity and organization, argue Chiara Redaelli and Carlos Arévalo. lieber.westpoint.edu/when-cartels...

Aggregate civilian–combatant ratios can serve important analytical and humanitarian purposes. However, their evidentiary limits are clear, argues Oded Hen. lieber.westpoint.edu/what-aggrega...

In an era of accelerating change and contested norms, the international law of military operations stands at a crossroads, argue @paulducheine.bsky.social, Terry Gill, Peter Pijpers, and Marten Zwanenburg. lieber.westpoint.edu/evolving-arc...

Armenia has undertaken one of the most consequential military modernization programs in its post-independence history. Davit Khachatryan explores whether Armenia has complied with its obligation, under AP I, to review these weapons before acquiring them. lieber.westpoint.edu/armenias-mil...

The notion of #levéeenmasse is a unique category in IHL. Elliot Winter outlines the policy and legal arguments in favour of recognising non-resident citizens as legitimate participants in levées en masse. lieber.westpoint.edu/regulation-l...

The legal technique of using general principles of law to fill gaps by analogizing relevant municipal law plays a certain role in the LOAC, albeit a limited one, explains Robert Kolb. lieber.westpoint.edu/role-municip...

During the 2026 Munich Security Conference, several States made a joint statement concerning the death of #AlexeiNavalny. In this statement, these States made clear that the poisoning was a violation of the #BTWC, as well as #CWC. lieber.westpoint.edu/alleged-pois...

As #algorithms begin to make decisions that determine who lives and who dies on the battlefield, the rise of #AI-driven autonomous weapon systems (AWS) is forcing a re-examination of some of the most basic principles of #IHL, explains Gerald Mako. lieber.westpoint.edu/legal-accoun...

Cyber operations against water infrastructure are not legally low-impact just because they are digital or, for now, short-lived, argue Szymon Skalski and Natosha Hoduski. lieber.westpoint.edu/when-red-lin...

Can an occupying power conclude treaties relating to the occupied territory? Can it do so solely in its own name or also in the name of the State whose territory is occupied? No clear answer yet exists for these questions, argues Robert Kolb. lieber.westpoint.edu/occupying-po...

Szymon Skalski and Natosha Hoduski examine in their post when #cyber operations against water infrastructure may qualify as #attacks under #LOAC. lieber.westpoint.edu/when-red-lin...

Few contemporary conflicts have been as saturated with landmines as the one between #Armenia & #Azerbaijan. Davit Khachatryan discusses the continuing effects of mines on civilians & obligations of States exercising effective control over territory. lieber.westpoint.edu/anti-personn...

The Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium reinforces a central understanding: modern humanitarianism is part of a much older human project, explains Samuel White. lieber.westpoint.edu/laws-yesterd...

Africa’s diverse societies have long maintained complex systems of customary law governing conflict, reconciliation & the restoration of communal harmony. Tamalin Bolus & Sarah Jean Mabeza explore the links between law & culture. lieber.westpoint.edu/african-trad...

Harmen van der Wilt and Lachezar Yanev explore in their post universal jurisdiction, prosecuting war crimes, and the role domestic courts and criminal enforcement can play in addressing violations of IHL. lieber.westpoint.edu/pushing-boun...

Although there is growing interest in providing military animals with greater protection in wartime, the lex lata of armed conflict regards animals as objects and property, explains Ronald Alcala. lieber.westpoint.edu/military-ani...

Long before formal statehood, Somali society developed a detailed and durable system for regulating violence constructed on customary law, collective responsibility, and oral authority rather than codification, explains Ayan Ali. lieber.westpoint.edu/somali-tradi...

The transition from the classical “law of war” to the modern “IHL” represents more than a linguistic evolution; it signifies a profound shift in the conceptualization of warfare, moving from a State-centric model to a person-centric model, argues Emily Crawford. lieber.westpoint.edu/terminologic...

The Torah’s enduring relevance lies not in its replication within modern law, but in its demonstration that the impulse to limit violence is ancient, cross‑cultural, and deeply embedded in human societies, argues Norman Solomon. lieber.westpoint.edu/jewish-ethic...

Hittites created one of the earliest durable systems of regulated warfare. Their treaties, laws, and ritual obligations demonstrate that humanitarian norms emerged independently across multiple civilisations, argues @rorycox.bsky.social . lieber.westpoint.edu/hittite-laws...