Faculty Publications

The ongoing transformation of the U.S. Marine Corps has raised some controversy and prompted wide-ranging discussions on the future of the Corps.

The 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict has rekindled the debate about the validity of qualified neutrality during an international armed conflict. The concept is sometimes also referred to as benevolent neutrality. Since Russia’s invasion this year, nearly 40 nations, including the United States, have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in lethal military aid, including weapons and ammunition.

Russia threatened to hold "military tribunals" for the fighters in Mariupol who refused to surrender. This piece explores the implications for prisoner of war status and the application of combat immunity.

A legal review of USMC Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations efforts to maintain a low-profile amongst the civilian infrastructure considering the legal principle of distinction and the need to protect civilians during military operations.

The use of U.S. Marine Corps Expeditionary Advance Base Operations to Defend Norway via A2AD and contain the Russian Northern Fleet.

This post is the second of two articles that analyze the seizure of Baltic Leader, a Russian merchant ship intercepted by the French Navy on Feb. 25. The 127-meter ship was transporting cars in the English Channel when it was diverted to the Port of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France.

A review of whether the Russian seizure of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine complied with international law.

Amid the international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, French warships recently relied on sanctions measures to intercept and seize a Russian merchant ship at sea. This detention raises an important question states should consider as they continue their attempts to impose costs on Russia: During armed conflict, can neutral states seize belligerent merchant vessels on the high seas and retain their neutral status?

As Ukrainian forces continue to defend their nation, the detention of Russian troops—including those in civilian clothes or Ukrainian uniforms—will become a growing concern. This post addresses whether international humanitarian law (IHL) requires Ukraine to provide them prisoner of war status if captured out of uniform.

On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu closed the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits to Russian warships, exercising Ankara’s right under Article 19 of the 1936 Montreux Convention.

At the Stockton Center for International Law law of armed conflict (LOAC) workshop, an experienced and diverse group of scholars and practitioners considered the United States’ longest armed conflict in Afghanistan. This post offers reflections on the topics of conflict classification, detention, and other legal and policy topics.

Port industry leaders recently submitted cybersecurity guidelines to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for consideration. The IMO Member States should seize this opportunity and amend the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code to enact cybersecurity standards for ports and port facilities.

For nearly as long as human have engaged in organized violence, there have been attempts to fashion normative architectures to constrain and limit it.

Freed from the stalemate that resulted from opposing bipolar superpowers wielding off-setting veto power in the United Nations Security Council, the enforcement regime envisioned by the drafters of the UN Charter in 1945 is slowly becoming a reality.