‘Hybrid threats’, ‘grey zones’, ‘competition’, and ‘proxies’: When is it actually war?

January 16, 2025 10 mins read Analysis / Armed Groups / IHL / Law and Conflict / Scope of application Samit D’Cunha, Tristan Ferraro & Tilman Rodenhäuser

In an era of rising geopolitical tensions, terms like ‘hybrid threats,’ ‘grey zones,’ and ‘proxy ...

A common enemy: aggregating intensity in non-international armed conflicts

April 22, 2021 17 mins read Analysis / Armed Groups / Law and Conflict Chiara Redaelli

Contemporary non-international armed conflicts are increasingly fought by a myriad of non-State actors, often engaging in hostilities against a common enemy and at ...

ICRC engagement with non-State armed groups: why and how

March 4, 2021 9 mins read Access / Analysis / Armed Groups / Humanitarian Action / Influencing Behaviour in Armed Conflict / Sexual Violence Jelena Pejic, Irénée Herbet & Tilman Rodenhäuser

In 2020, the ICRC counted 614 armed groups of concern to the organization’s humanitarian operations ...

Aggregated intensity: classifying coalitions of non-State armed groups

October 7, 2020 15 mins read Analysis / Armed Groups / Law and Conflict / Religion Jelena Nikolic, Thomas de Saint Maurice & Tristan Ferraro

With an ever-increasing number of non-State armed groups and a growing tendency for non-international armed conflicts (NIAC) to be fought by coalitions, it ...

The establishment of courts by armed groups: what is the legal basis?

October 11, 2016 10 mins read Analysis / Law and Conflict Ezequiel Heffes

While the law of armed conflict is understood as granting armed groups the possibility to install judicial mechanisms in order to pass judgments ...