Commentaries by Professor Elliot Winter | Newcastle University (UK)

Weapons that select and engage targets without a human pulling the trigger are no longer hypothetical, and the legal architecture governing who bears responsibility when they kill the wrong person has not caught up. US Department of Defense doctrine defines autonomous weapon systems (AWS) as systems that, “once activated, can select and engage targets without [...]

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Note: This is part three of a three-part series on the proposed handover of the Chagos Archipelago from the UK to Mauritius.  Part one — Why the Proposed UK-Mauritius Handover Would Be a Strategic Blow to Western Security — can be found here.  Part two — Why the Proposed UK-Mauritius Handover Is Not Required by [...]

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Chagos Archipelago as depicted in 1794 / Public Domain

Note: This is part two of a three-part series on the proposed handover of the Chagos Archipelago from the UK to Mauritius.  Part one — Why the Proposed UK-Mauritius Handover Would Be a Strategic Blow to Western Security — can be found here.  Part three — How the Proposed UK-Mauritius Handover Could be Halted by [...]

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US Air Force bomber over Diego Garcia, Public Domain

Note: This is part one of a three-part series on the proposed handover of the Chagos Archipelago from the UK to Mauritius.  Part two — Why the Proposed UK-Mauritius Handover Is Not Required by International Law — can be found here. Part three — How the Proposed UK-Mauritius Handover Could be Halted by the British [...]

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The opening days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered a fierce and inspiring response by ordinary Ukrainians. They joined together in a mass uprising to defend their homeland. Under international humanitarian law (IHL), such an act of resistance is known as a “levée en masse” (levée). A levée is a unique category that temporarily [...]

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