How does international humanitarian law develop?

April 13, 2023 24 mins read Analysis / History / Humanity in War podcast / Law and Conflict Cordula Droege, Eirini Giorgou & Elizabeth Rushing

A recent edition of the International Review of the Red Cross dedicated its content to ...

It’s all relative: the humanitarian principles in historical and legal perspective

March 16, 2023 11 mins read Analysis / Back to basics: humanitarian principles in contemporary armed conflict / Humanitarian Action Marina Sharpe

Humanitarian actors broadly agree on the humanitarian principles’ meanings and their utility in responses to ...

Revisiting the history of the Geneva Conventions

February 17, 2022 8 mins read Analysis / History / Humanitarian Action / Humanitarian diplomacy / Law and Conflict Boyd van Dijk

With armed conflicts persisting in various parts of the globe and at risk of breaking ...

Sexual violence in armed conflict: the historical limits of humanitarian action and the ICRC in the 20th Century

December 2, 2021 13 mins read Analysis / Gender / Gender and conflict / History / Humanitarian Action / Sexual Violence Daniel Palmieri

Despite clear legal prohibitions, sexual violence remains widespread and prevalent during armed conflicts and other ...

War and the city: a history

April 29, 2021 6 mins read Analysis / History / Humanitarian Action / Urban warfare Daniel Palmieri

As long as there have been cities, wars have been staged within them. While the term ‘urban warfare’ conjures more recent images of ...

From the ‘Spanish Flu’ to COVID-19: lessons from the 1918 pandemic and First World War

April 23, 2020 10 mins read COVID-19 and conflict / History Cédric Cotter

The influenza pandemic from 1918-1919, commonly known as the ‘Spanish Flu’, was the most severe health disaster in recent history. The chaos and ...

The International Review of the Red Cross at 150: What’s changed and what remains the same

October 31, 2019 9 mins read Humanitarian Action / Humanitarian Principles / Law and Conflict / Review-related Ellen Policinski

In 1869, the world was changing at a remarkable pace. Russian chemist Dimitri Mendeleev developed ...

Is arms control over emerging technologies just a peacetime luxury? Lessons learned from the First World War

January 18, 2019 14 mins read History / Humanitarian Action / Law and Conflict / Weapons Eric Germain

At the turn of the twentieth century, many engineers with fertile imaginations—from France’s Gustave Gabet to America’s Orville Wright—hoped that their inventions would ...

From ‘false news’ to ‘fake news’: 3 lessons from history

February 23, 2017 7 mins read Analysis / Review-related Audrey MacKay

In the most recent issue of the International Review of the Red Cross, authors look back at the last century of war through ...

The evolution of warfare: Focus on the Law

February 16, 2017 9 mins read Law and Conflict / Online publications / Review-related George Dvaladze

How has warfare changed over the past 100 years? Is the international community still sufficiently equipped to reasonably minimize its negative effects on ...

Are we living through the worst period in history?

February 15, 2017 10 mins read Analysis / Humanitarian Action / Review-related / Sexual Violence Vincent Bernard

Vincent Bernard is the editor in chief of the International Review of the Red Cross. ...

Algeria and the Geneva Conventions: Crossroads in history

January 31, 2017 9 mins read Interviews / Law and Conflict Raphaël Dallaire Ferland

This is our conversation with Soualem Lazhar, director of Human Rights, Social Development and Cultural, Scientific and Technical Affairs at the Algerian Ministry ...