Omphalos takes an interdisciplinary look at the contemporary Middle East, and is published jointly with two key partners: Academic Exchange, an educational non-profit that seeks to deepen understanding of Israel in the international academic community, and the Brookings Center for Middle East Policy and its blog, Markaz. Turmoil in today's Middle East today implicates a wide array of legal questions, bears huge costs for civilian populations, and poses diverse challenges to policymakers, activists, lawyers, and reformers. For the issues that Lawfare treats, the Middle East is a kind of omphalos.
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More than 10,000 European women and children affiliated with Islamic State fighters remain in local custody in northeastern Syria. So far, European governments have been reluctant to take large-scale action.
A recent decision by the Israeli Supreme Court highlights the complex challenges inherent in the protection of democratic norms in a situation of ongoing conflict.
The U.S.-Taliban peace agreement technically conditions U.S. military withdrawal on the Taliban’s agreement to deny al-Qaeda the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist safe haven. But the agreement is lopsided.
A government offensive in Syria's last rebel area has triggered the largest displacement of the nine-year civil war. The catastrophe in Idlib demonstrates the need for a new policy to protect the internally displaced.
Since a lethal airstrike against Turkish forces in Syria on Feb. 27, speculation has been rife as to whether Turkey could request military assistance under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. At least for now, such speculation is misplaced.
A lot, if you are Palestinian.
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