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.
Israel just carried out another strike on an Iranian military facility in Syria. Iran is likely preparing a response.
The reaction to the multinational strike on Assad’s chemical weapons facilities, the political crisis in Libya, and the Gulf feud’s latest casualty: Emirati-Somali ties.
A quick take on what to make of the new draft authorization for use of military force.
Did the IDF respond appropriately under international law to Palestinian demonstrators along the Gaza border?
There is no apparent domestic or international legal authority for the airstrikes conducted in Syria on April 14.
Can a one-off military strike deter Syria’s Assad from using chemical weapons again? The data suggests no.
What if the United States sought to push back on Russian influence in the region? Here are several steps to consider.
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