Commentaries by David M. Crane | Founding Chief Prosecutor of the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone

The global security system is creaking under the weight of crises it can’t seem to manage. Wars grind on in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and elsewhere. The Security Council is paralyzed by veto politics. The Secretary‑General is criticized from all sides. And into this moment of institutional fatigue steps a new player: President Trump’s “Board of [...]

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“Armies are equipped and trained to vanquish enemies. If turned inward, they can easily become an instrument of tyranny.” —Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director for Liberty & National Security, Brennan Center for Justice The United States has long drawn a bright line between military power and civilian law enforcement. The Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) embodies that [...]

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Across the past eight decades, the international community has experienced successive “waves” of atrocity accountability—periods in which global norms either strengthened or eroded in the face of mass violence, authoritarian resurgence, and geopolitical disruption. Today, the world stands at the threshold of a fourth wave: the Age of Aggression, a moment defined by the collapse [...]

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For months, the United States has been carrying out a campaign of escalating force against Venezuela—one that now includes dozens of lethal maritime strikes, a naval blockade of “sanctioned” oil tankers, and, most recently, a drone strike on Venezuelan soil. The administration has acknowledged hitting a dock inside Venezuela that it claims was used to [...]

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Once again, the US is politically meddling with the conflict in Ukraine. The back-and-forth of Washington’s destabilizing efforts to bring “peace” to the country is a blatant attempt to secure the Nobel Peace Prize for President Donald Trump, whose proposed 28‑point “peace plan” for Ukraine is not a blueprint for stability but a capitulation to [...]

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As the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group steams into the Caribbean and US forces intensify operations against alleged drug traffickers, the Trump administration appears to be signaling a more aggressive posture toward Venezuela. While the official justification centers on counter-narcotics enforcement, the scale and symbolism of deploying the world’s largest aircraft carrier suggest [...]

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As the world faces unprecedented challenges—global conflicts, humanitarian crises, and a growing sense of injustice—it is imperative that we establish a robust and credible Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine. The successful establishment of this tribunal greatly depends on its leadership, which must be characterized by both depth of experience and a [...]

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“We unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy. We also don’t fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt, and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, the military will “kill people and break things for a [...]

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The current political climate in the United States has raised serious concerns regarding the potential overreach of executive power. At times, these methods have been reminiscent of historical authoritarian regimes. In particular, the tactics employed by the Trump Administration to consolidate power—specifically the use of federal law enforcement agencies and nationalized National Guard units—raise concerns [...]

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This article examines the legal and political significance of the enlarged partial agreement provision within the statute of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. It argues that this mechanism not only enhances the tribunal’s operational feasibility but also elevates its institutional stature by enabling flexible international support, circumventing traditional diplomatic impasses, [...]

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