intervention

2014 November

The Crisis in Ukraine: Legal and Strategic Aspects

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On 17 November 2014, we hosted a seminar on the crisis in the Ukraine. Adopting a familiar format, we discussed the legal and strategic aspects of recent developments with the help of two speakers. Dr Tamás Hoffmann of Corvinus University Budapest gave as an insight into the questions of international law raised by the internal turmoil in the country, the subsequent events in the Crimea and the current conflict raging in the Donbass region. We then turned to Dr Daniel Steed from our Strategy and Security Institute, who offered an overview of the bigger strategic picture and gave us a detailed local and regional forecast of the likely strategic developments.

2014 September

UK Military Action against ISIS: Legal and Strategic Aspects

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On 26 September 2014, Parliament approved British military intervention in Iraq against Islamic State by 524 to 43 votes. The previous day, the Government published a summary of its legal position for military action, suggesting that the consent of Iraq ‘provides a clear and unequivocal legal basis for the deployment of UK forces and military assets to take military action to strike [Islamic State] sites and military strongholds in Iraq.’ On 6 October 2014, we convened a 'rapid reaction seminar' to offer some initial thoughts on the legal and strategic aspects of this development.

2014 March

Ukraine Insta-Symposium: When does the Breach of a Status of Forces Agreement amount to an Act of Aggression?

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This post examines the deployment of Russian troops in Crimea as part of a symposium on the Crimea crisis convened by Opinio Juris.I argue that a strong case can be made that the Russian Federation is in material breach of the Black Sea Fleet Status of Forces Agreement and as such is responsible for committing an act of aggression within the meaning of Article 3(e) of the Definition of Aggression.

2014 February

International Law and Civil Wars: Intervention and Consent

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International Law and Civil Wars: Intervention and Consent. Eliav Lieblich. London and New York: Routledge. 2013. 286pp. £80. ISBN 978-0-415-50790-5. Foreign military intervention into internal armed conflicts is a long-standing practice in international relations, yet its legality is fraught with doubt. A broad consensus exists only on one fundamental point: outside intervention in situations of