What’s at Stake for U.S. Troops Ordered to Commit War Crimes Lower-level perpetrators will be the most vulnerable to prosecution for war crimes committed in the Iran war.

Trump's latest tweet which appears to call not just for war crimes but for all out genocide against the entire Iranian people. Anyone in a position to participate in such crimes should refuse. Here's why and how. Please share widely.
www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trump-us-ira...

Will the Norm Against Cluster Munitions Survive the Iran War? A closer look at the legal reality and political rhetoric suggests that Iran’s use of cluster munitions won’t necessarily weaken the norm against them.

Iran’s use of cluster munitions against Israel looks like evidence of international law’s irrelevance.

But as WPR columnist @charlicarpenter.bsky.social writes, a closer look suggests the opposite may be true.

Doha Debates: Is humanity hardwired for war? YouTube video by Al Jazeera English

This Doha Debates roundtable, in which I participated, was recorded last November - still relevant? Give it a listen and tell me what you think. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXSq...

Does the Lawlessness of the Iran War Matter? An overarching question is whether the laws of war even matter when powerful states seem able to do as they please with little consequence.

If you missed my UMass @sbs-umass.bsky.social webinar on international law and Iran today, you can read a summary of my key points here: www.worldpoliticsreview.com/us-israel-ir...

SBS and HFA to Host Virtual Panel Discussing Iran War on March 10 | UMass Amherst The webinar, “War with Iran: International and Domestic Implications,” will take place at 4 p.m. on Zoom and is free and open to the public.

Interested in international law and the US/Israel/Iran war? I'll be speaking on a @sbs-umass.bsky.social webinar with some great colleagues next Tuesday March 10 at 4pm - come join us: www.umass.edu/news/article...

Lecturer 100% - 3 Full-time Positions - Political Science Department - Amherst, Massachusetts, United States Title: Lecturer 100% - 3 Full-time Positions - Political Science Department Executive Area: Academic Affairs College/School/MBU: Social & Behavioral Sciences Department: Political Science Work Loc...

Academic friends, UMass PoliSci is recruiting teaching faculty in International Relations as well as other fields of political science. Please share widely!

UMass Amherst Experts to Examine Law, Politics of US Intervention in Venezuela | UMass Amherst The public is invited to attend the Jan. 20 webinar which will feature faculty members from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

I'll be speaking today at 4pm on this webinar about international law and the Venezuela raid that captured Maduro. Register here to join and listen: www.umass.edu/news/article...

Whether War or Police Action, the U.S. Strike on Venezuela Was Illegal In claiming its attack on Venezuela was a law enforcement operation, the Trump administration actually raised the bar on harms to civilians.

Some reasons why civilized countries don't do 'law enforcement' missions with high explosives and blackouts www.worldpoliticsreview.com/us-venezuela...

The Nuclear Taboo Is Actually Getting Stronger Far from collapsing, the nuclear taboo remains strong and by some indicators is getting stronger as a result of developments in international law.

At World Politics Review (@wpr.bsky.social) this week, I explain more about how we can know that norms against nuclear non-use are getting stronger rather than weaker in an era of nuclear brinksmanship www.worldpoliticsreview.com/nuclear-weap...

Why the Nuclear Taboo Is Stronger Than Ever Fears of proliferation and the crumbling of an earlier nuclear order could actually be accelerating international norm-building.

In my latest @foreignpolicy.com piece, I trace how the nuclear taboo is increasingly grounded in international humanitarian law rather than the non-proliferation regime. foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/20/n...

4 in 5 US troops surveyed understand duty to disobey illegal orders As National Guard troops head to DC, a new survey reveals service members’ understanding of the distinction between legal and illegal orders.

More positive news from @umassamherst.bsky.social Human Security Lab: www.militarytimes.com/opinion/comm...

Global Outrage Isn’t the Only Thing Driving Israel’s Shift on Aid to Gaza Israel loosened restrictions on aid entering Gaza, suggesting it is more vulnerable to political pressure than it has been in recent months.

One of the most powerful drivers in Israel's shift on food aid is the Israeli military pressuring Netanyahu to stop forcing them to carry out manifestly unlawful orders. International law at work. www.worldpoliticsreview.com/israel-aid-g...

Military-trained Americans’ trust in the president’s nuclear launch authority dropped during Iran Crisis. Here’s why it matters. A recent study discovered something unexpected: The US military's confidence in the president having sole authority to launch a nuclear weapon went down when Trump authorized missile strikes on Iran. ...

Military-trained Americans want much stronger nuclear safeguards, worry about unilateral Presidential launch authority, says new UMass Human Security Lab / You Gov poll
in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

thebulletin.org/2025/07/mili...

U.N. Peacekeeping Can Help Trump Advance His ‘Back to Basics’ Agenda The U.S. under Trump is undercutting U.N. peacekeeping while saying it values those missions. It should step up its involvement instead.

My latest column on why Trump should double down on, not pull out of, UN peacekeeping: www.worldpoliticsreview.com/un-peacekeep...

Trump’s Deportations to El Salvador Are a Case for the ICC The nature of the U.S.-El Salvador deportation scheme means that Trump could be indicted by the International Criminal Court.

The nature of the US-El Salvador deportation scheme means that Trump could be indicted by the International Criminal Court.

@charlicarpenter.bsky.social explains how it could happen:

Non-paywalled version: drive.google.com/file/d/1fgMm...

Bonus - Is the Rules-Based Order Dependent on the US? w/ Charli Carpenter (Preview) American Prestige · Episode

One does not simply break the rules-based international order. On the American Prestige podcast this week, I talk with Danny Bessner and Derek Davison about why.

Subscribe to this excellent podcast and listen here. (Non-paywalled version available in comments.) open.spotify.com/episode/7w6K...

This looks so exciting! Would you be willing to share a pre-print copy? charli@umass.edu

As I head with students to the UN's nuclear ban treaty conference next week, I'm excited at my lab's emerging research findings: this treaty's very existence can and does change minds about the lawfulness of nuclear use. @nuclearban.bsky.social

Blue Helmet: My Year as a UN Peacekeeper in South Sudan Blue Helmet: My Year as a UN Peacekeeper in South Sudan [Carpenter, Edward H., Bardalai, Gen. Apurba Kumar] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Blue Helmet: My Year as a UN Peacekeeper in South Sudan

My brother Lt. Col @ehcarpenter.bsky.social's new book about his time as a peacekeeper in South Sudan is topping the charts at Amazon! A great resource for classrooms, scholars and the general public interested in world affairs… and he's about to start a book tour as well: bit.ly/3QmwT9H

Build The Resistance

Guys! Here is a great new website where you can find lots of ways to get involved in protecting our human rights and fundamental freedoms. Filter by location, issue and type of event and find ways to keep the pressure on Trump to follow the constitution. Happy Monday! www.buildtheresistance.org

Trump Administration Rescinds Freeze on Federal Grants and Loans: Live Updates

an early sign that institutions will hold after all? www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01...

Whew.

The U.S. Military Should Focus More on Protecting Civilians, Not Less A leaked memo suggests the U.S. military’s Civilian Protection Center could be the victim of budget cuts. If anything, the center should be expanded.

Civilian protection may sound like a bleeding heart issue, but the military gets tons of strategic benefits for its civilian harm mitigation dollar. Here’s why the DOD’s Center for Civilian Protrction is a bad candidate for Trump’s chopping block: www.worldpoliticsreview.com/us-military-...

The Rules-Based Order Is Less Dependent on the U.S. Than Biden’s Critics Think Biden often failed to uphold the rules-based order he vowed to protect. But that order doesn’t operate merely at the whim of the great powers.

my latest column in World Politics Review @wpr.bsky.social: the death of the Rules-Based Order is being somewhat exaggerated

so i don't think it was 'genocide or nothing' but the desire to make the most air-tight jurisdictional case may have been the rationale. the ruling itself surprised me. my take on it (as a political scientist not a lawyer) is here, feedback welcome! www.worldpoliticsreview.com/icj-israel-g...

as i understand it, acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction is only one of the avenues through which a state can be subject to jurisdiction by the ICJ. www.icj-cij.org/basis-of-jur...

Israel and South Africa are also both parties to the Fourth Geneva convention, which prohibits forced displacement, collective punishment, and blocking humanitarian access to civilians.

Israel and South Africa are both parties to the Convention Against All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits apartheid in Article 3 and allows for ICJ jurisdiction in Article 22.