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April 8, 2011 | Is the EU ill-prepared to meet new global security challenges?

James Cussen: This question is loaded with the baggage of a transatlantic divide on countering terrorism that pre-dates September 11th and at least extends back to the last days of the Clinton presidency. The inadequacies of the American portion of this discussion are challenged for lacking a pragmatic focus.

June 2, 2010 | International Law and the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Anush Hayrapetyan: International legal principles applied to the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict allow for the international recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The conflict’s resolution would promote the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

April 22, 2010 | Bringing International Humanitarian Law into the 21st Century

Brandon Henander: International Humanitarian Law is insufficient and even counter-productive because, in some situations, it can discourage a humanitarian approach in favour of more conventionally legal tactics. Laws should be amended to address the increasing presence of civilians among enemy combatants and the political and strategic importance of sparing human life whenever possible.

February 18, 2010 | The Iran Nuclear Weapons Programme: Toward Renewed Diplomatic Engagement

Saeb Sal Kasm: Successful resolution of the Iranian nuclear dilemma requires creative and skillful diplomatic engagement. Otherwise, the parties risk further isolation, politically charged rhetoric, and eventually escalation toward military confrontation.

December 4, 2009 | Frankenstein's Monster and the Law of the Eternal Compromise

André Budick: The EU is often criticized for its apparent deficit in formulating a coherent foreign and security policy. Yet, that ‘deficit’ really lies at the heart of the EU’s identity as a transnational entity, outside the norms of conventional thinking on International Relations.

August 13, 2009 | Drivers of the UN Humanitarian Interventions

Bianca Sarbu: The failure of the UN to achieve consensus on humanitarian intervention has led to contradictory practices. A qualitative analysis is needed to establish how action is legally accepted by the international community and what factors legitimate it.

July 27, 2009 | International Law Begins at Home

Jakob Stenfalk: Solving the problems of the 21st century requires broad international cooperation. Having glaring double standards is fundamentally destructive of the trust that such cooperation requires.

December 19, 2007 | The US Must Show Its Commitment to International Law

Scott T. Paul: The Senate’s ratification of the Law of the Sea is essential in showing US commitment to international law, especially as the treaty is supported by business, the military, and the White House.

October 5, 2011 | Obama Must Explain Drone Strike Policy

The recent killing of al-Qaeda cleric and US citizen Anwar Al-Awlaki raises questions about the legality of using drone strikes. ++ Drone strikes have increased dramatically under the Obama administration as a weapon against terror groups, but their legal standing under US and international law is uncertain. ++ US allies and human rights groups are now having their attention drawn to this policy.

November 12, 2010 | Dazzling New Weapons Require New Rules for War

A new arsenal of drones and satellite-guided weapons is changing the nature of warfare. ++ These weapons are seductively attractive; they can destroy an enemy from a safe distance from the air. ++ Saudi Arabia now wants its own satellite capability which could deter Iran, but also threaten Israel. ++ These weapons make possible precise acts of war that, in another time, would be called

December 18, 2009 | "Democracy Under Arrest"

Universal jurisdiction, as a legal practice, is profoundly undemocratic and leads to a form of enforced political morality. ++ Last week London issued, and then retracted, a warrant for former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on war crimes allegedly committed by Israeli security forces last year in the Gaza strip. ++ The political fallout for this failed attempt by human rights lawyers will

December 4, 2008 | A New Strategy to Fight Piracy

A new strategy to tackle Somali piracy has become imperative. ++ A blockade with patrolling naval ships at each major port has the best hope of counteracting the pirates’ wealth and anonymity ++ Customary international law can be exercised to allow states to use force against pirates on the high seas. ++ A clear UNSC mandate would also facilitate cohesive action from EU and a multinational

November 19, 2008 | Fighting Piracy Should Be More Like the Old Days

The hijacking of a Saudi-owned oil tanker is unprecedented but only part of the recent, dramatic rise in piracy. ++ Capturing pirates in not a major problem, but due process makes dealing with captive pirates more complex than in the 1700s. ++ Universal jurisdiction should be applied in this case, allowing any state to try and punish pirates. ++ States should then try them in military courts. ++

October 30, 2008 | Old Bush/Cheney Tricks in Syria

US interests, and its allies, were dealt a severe blow when US commandos attacked an alleged Al Qaeda operative in Syria, killing seven civilians. ++ The risks of such an attack include “sabotaging Israeli-Syrian peace talks, reversing the trend of Syrian cooperation in Iraq and Lebanon, and playing into the hands of Iran,” which undoubtedly outweigh any “fleeting tactical

August 13, 2008 | A Juridical View on the Caucasus Conflict

The clashes in the Caucasus show once again how explosive secessionist conflicts can be. ++ According to international law, they endanger global peace and only the UN and the OSCE are authorized to manage the resolution of such conflicts. ++ But parties involved distrust UN mediation: the separatists because the sovereignty of Georgia is highlighted; Georgia because Russia has a veto in the

June 12, 2008 | No More Humanitarian Interventions

“Many of the world’s necessary interventions in the decade before the invasion - in places like Haiti and the Balkans - would seem impossible in today’s climate.” ++ In the wake of the Burmese cyclone, the strength of totalitarian governments and the unwillingness of others to pressure them have all become troublingly apparent. ++ US involvement in Iraq has only accelerated this

July 23, 2007 | Time For a Transatlantic Consensus on International Law

William H. Taft and Frances G. Burwell from the Atlantic Council advise the EU and US to coordinate their positions before the ICC review conference in 2009. The transatlantic partners must set an example for the rest of the world.

With the review conference on the International Criminal Court (ICC) coming up in 2009, a concerted transatlantic effort to build global consensus on international