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Law of War

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Employing Insurgency in Ukraine, U.S. Hospital Prices, Reaching the Middle Class: RAND Weekly Recap

This week, we discuss the potential value of an insurgent campaign in Ukraine; addressing L.A.’s housing crisis; lessons from the 2017 battle for Raqqa; a look at U.S. hospital prices; Americans’ options for reaching the middle class; and how to help single mothers get out of poverty.

Apr 8, 2022
News Release

Efforts to Avoid Civilian Casualties in Raqqa, Syria, in 2017 Were Considerable but Insufficient

U.S. strategic choices in the battle to liberate Raqqa, Syria, from ISIS in 2017 likely increased civilian harm despite considerable efforts to avoid civilian casualties by both U.S. and coalition forces.

Mar 31, 2022
Report

Efforts to Avoid Civilian Casualties in Raqqa Were Considerable but Insufficient

The 2017 battle to liberate Raqqa, Syria, from ISIS is a cautionary tale in 21st-century conflicts. U.S. strategic choices likely increased civilian harm despite considerable efforts to avoid civilian casualties by both U.S. and coalition forces. What lessons can be applied to future operations?

Mar 31, 2022
Multimedia

Press Briefing on U.S. Department of Defense Civilian Casualty Policies and Procedures

Researchers from the RAND Corporation brief the press on an independent RAND assessment of U.S. Department of Defense standards, processes, procedures, and policies relating to civilian casualties resulting from U.S. military operations.

Mar 8, 2022
Commentary

Trying to Forestall the Next Civilian Casualty Horror

After civilians are injured or killed, the U.S. Defense Department isn't doing enough to learn from its own failures. The Pentagon needs to devote resources and senior leader attention to an issue that has historically lacked both. Civilian protection should become the singular priority for a critical mass of people across the organization.

Feb 3, 2022
News Release

Pentagon Processes on Civilian Casualties Inconsistent, in Need of Reform

Lessons from U.S. military strikes that caused civilian casualties are not shared across the Department of Defense (DoD) in a way that meaningfully reduces future civilian casualties.

Jan 27, 2022
Report

Pentagon Processes on Civilian Casualties Inconsistent, in Need of Reform

The Department of Defense has committed to civilian-harm policies and processes, but inconsistencies remain. The Pentagon is not adequately organized or resourced to sufficiently assess, reduce, and respond to civilian-harm incidents. Reform will require institutional, not just operational, changes.

Jan 27, 2022
Journal Article

Strategic and Legal Implications of Emerging Dual-Use ASAT Systems

This article addresses the dual-use conundrum of space technology, examining where the threshold lies for anti-satellite systems.

Jan 6, 2022
Report

Building Military Coalitions: Lessons from U.S. Experience

This report describes factors that seem to be associated with U.S. decisions to use coalitions for military interventions, factors that drive partner states to join such coalitions, and factors that shape the success of military coalitions.

Nov 30, 2021
Report

Restraint and the Future of Warfare: The Changing Global Environment and Its Implications for the U.S. Air Force

This volume of the Future of Warfare series examines trends in factors affecting the use of restraint in warfare that could affect U.S. national security, notably effectiveness of false accusations and public concern for civilian casualties.

May 11, 2020
Commentary

'Game of Thrones' Reflections on International Relations

As two RAND researchers join millions of others in eagerly awaiting the final season of Game of Thrones, they reflect on one of the show's central themes: rival views of the nature of power and justice.

Apr 11, 2019
Report

The moral component of cross-domain conflict

The study considers the body of work on morality and armed conflict in the future operating environment and provides insights on the ways in which new ways of fighting may challenge traditional moral principles.

Oct 20, 2016
Report

The Continued Evolution of U.S. Law of Armed Conflict Implementation: Implications for the U.S. Military

RAND researchers examine potential strategic, technological, and normative trends that may affect the future evolution of U.S. policies that implement the Law of Armed Conflict, and assess the resulting implications for the U.S. military.

Nov 9, 2015
Commentary

The Allies in Libya: A New Paradigm for Intervention?

What has been happening in North Africa this year, in what seems to be the leading edge of a great wind of change sweeping the Arab world, will require the Europeans (along with the U.S. and others) to be deeply and durably engaged there — economically, politically and in humanitarian terms, writes Robert E. Hunter.

Apr 10, 2011
Report

Hired Guns: Views About Armed Contractors in Operation Iraqi Freedom

While most U.S. government officials working in Iraq believe the use of armed private security contractors has been a useful strategy, many worry that the contractors have not always had a positive effect on U.S. foreign policy objectives.

Jun 1, 2010
Report

The Impact of U.S. Domestic Law on the Last Days of American Presence in Vietnam

A discussion of Public Law 93-50 forbidding expenditure of U.S. funds for combat in Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam and South Vietnam after 15 August 1973, and the War Powers Resolution limiting the President's power to engage U.S. troops, and how...

Jan 1, 1975
People

Bryan Frederick

Senior Political Scientist
Education Ph.D. in international relations, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); M.A. in international relations and international economics, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); B.A. in philosophy, Williams College
People

Kaleigh Heard

Senior Analyst
Education Ph.D. in political science, University of British Columbia; M.A. in political science, University of British Columbia; M.A. in war studies, Royal Military College of Canada; B.A.(Hons) in international relations, University of Western Ontario

RAND Topic:
Law of War

Topic Synonyms:
Law of Armed Conflict