Fighting continues over Nagorno-Karabakh; ceasefire does not hold
Fighting continues in and over Nagorno-Karabakh. The Russian-brokered ceasefire agreed upon in Moscow on Saturday is not holding. It is time for the U.N. Security…
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Armenia and Azerbaijan on the brink of war
What do Trump and the election have to do with international law, politics, and security?
In Belarus, Lukashenko appears to resume repression
Trump’s creeping coup d’état: Democrats must get ready to impeach again (Part I)
The Elephant in the Room: Russia’s Role in the Demonstrations
In coronavirus pandemic, China defies international law in the South China Sea–Part II
In coronavirus pandemic, China defies international law in the South China Sea–Part I
Das Scheitern des Völkerrechts in Syrien: Russland und Syrien, und jetz die Turkei
The forgotten dream of ending war
Those who have known war are sometimes its fiercest opponents. Last night I watched a movie, Butterfly (i Girasoli) starring Sofia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, directed…
REPRISE: Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.
Originally published on January 16, 2016 Today is Martin Luther King day in the United States, a national holiday. It is a good moment to…
International Law and the targeted killing of Qasem Soleimani
Developing The targeted killing of Qasem Soleimani (قاسم سلیمانی) in Bagdad on January 3, 2020 was a military action with strategic consequences. These include a…
Apple bows to Russian pressure, shows Crimea as Russian territory
Apple has recently bowed to Russian pressure and started showing the Crimea on its maps as Russian territory. See “Weltkarte: Bei Apple ist die Krim…
REPRISE (2019) — Veterans’ Day, 2011: “Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?”
Originally published on November 11, 2011 My uncle died in a field in northern France with a German bullet in his head. To him, and…
Without International Law, “anarchy is loosed upon the world.”
The Second Coming (published 1921) Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;…
Putin-Zelensky deal on Crimea and recognizing fruits of aggression in Donbas would be void under international law
The Articles 52 and 53 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provides that treaties whose adoption has been procured by the…
U.S. attacks against Iran likely (Updated 9-20-19)
September 1, 1939: German-Soviet alliance launches World War II with German invasion of Poland
See Paul Flückiger, “Ein Sieg, aber keine Kapitulation – vor 80 Jahren begann mit dem deutschen Angriff auf Polen der Zweite Weltkrieg; Vor 80 Jahren…
The Great Buffoon’s lack of support of Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter
Updated December 28; 2019 United Nations Charter, Article 2 The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act…
Foreign policy without International Law
Since the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the foundational writings of Hugo Grotius, nations have paid attention to international law in…