Article

"New rules for new wars" : international law and just war doctrine for irregular war

George R. Lucas

• Case Western Reserve journal of international law, Vol. 43, no. 3, 2011, p. 677-705

English

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This article traces the increasing pressures exerted upon international law and international institutions from two sources: the humanitarian military interventions (and failures to intervene) in the aftermath of the Cold War during the decade of the 1990s; and the “global war on terror” and wars of counterinsurgency and regime change fought during the first decade of the 21st century. Proposals for legal and institutional reform in response to these challenges emerge from two distinct and largely independent sources: a “publicist” or theoretical discussion among scholars in philosophy, law, and international relations; and a formal or procedural discussion among diplomats and statesmen, both focusing upon what the latter group defines as a “responsibility to protect”. This study concludes with recommendations for reform of international humanitarian law (or Law of Armed Conflict), and for reformulations of professional ethics and professional military education in allied militaries, both of which will be required to fully address the new challenges of “irregular” or hybrid war.

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