Naz K. Modirzadeh is a Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School and the Founding Director of the HLS Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (PILAC).

Naz K. Modirzadeh, HLS Professor of Practice and HLS PILAC Founding Director. Photo credit: CRISISGROUP/Kevin Abosch.

At HLS, Modirzadeh writes and teaches primarily in the field of public international law, with a focus on non-use of force, armed conflict, and counterterrorism issues. She teaches doctrinal courses on public international law and the laws of war. Her seminars and reading groups span such topics as the United Nations Security Council, international lawyering, Global South statecraft, and international counterterrorism law. She is a recipient of the Francis Lieber Prize of the American Society of International Law’s Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict.

As the head of PILAC, Modirzadeh is responsible for the Program and its cutting-edge initiatives. Established in 2014, PILAC is dedicated to producing and distributing knowledge on international law, peace, and war. The Program publishes independent analyses ranging from primers to extensive reports and evidentiary catalogs. Governments, U.N. actors, humanitarian bodies, armed forces, human-rights officials, think tanks, NGOs, and scholars routinely draw on PILAC’s evidence and analysis to help identify and address contemporary legal policy challenges. The Program also convenes briefing series and workshops that foster research-informed conversations among senior scholars, diplomats, legal advisers, and specialists.

Modirzadeh frequently briefs senior decision-makers and advises governments, U.N. bodies, international humanitarian organizations, and NGOs. She has briefed three of the United Nations’ principal organs: the Security Council, the General Assembly, and the Economic and Social Council.

Modirzadeh is on the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group and has served on a number of advisory boards for high-level U.N. and other initiatives. She is a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Lieber Institute for Law and Warfare at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

For the first decade of her career, Modirzadeh engaged in applied research and policy work with conflict actors, humanitarian organizations, and affected communities on the interpretation and implementation of international law in relation to situations of armed conflict and other humanitarian crises and emergencies, with a focus on Afghanistan, the Middle East, and North Africa. She has extensive experience leading trainings and facilitating discussions on international law and policy for diplomats as well as human-rights and humanitarian actors at headquarters and in conflict-affected areas.

Modirzadeh received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Biography last updated: June 2024.

Contact

Marie Turcotte Hills (Prof. Modirzadeh’s Faculty Assistant): mturcottehills@law.harvard.edu

Publications

SSRN author page

Journals

““Let Us All Agree to Die a Little”: TWAIL’s Unfulfilled Promise,” 65 Harvard International Law Journal 79 (2023)

“A conversation between Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga and Naz Khatoon Modirzadeh on the origins, objectives, and context of the 24 February 2021 ‘Arria-formula’ meeting convened by Mexico,” 8 Journal on the Use of Force and International Law 291 (2021) (co-author)

“Cut These Words: Passion and International Law of War Scholarship,” 61 Harvard International Law Journal 1 (Winter 2020)

“Protecting health care in armed conflict: action towards accountability,” 391 The Lancet 1477 (Apr. 14, 2018) (co-author)

“International law and armed conflict in dark times: A call for engagement,” International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 96, No. 895/896, pp. 737–749 (2014)

“Folk International Law: 9/11 Lawyering and the Transformation of the Law of Armed Conflict to Human Rights Policy and Human Rights Law to War Governance,” Harvard National Security Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 225–304 (2014)

“Ambivalent Universalism? Jus ad bellum in Modern Islamic Legal Discourse,” European Journal of International Law, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 367–89 (2013) (co-author)

“Humanitarian engagement under counter-terrorism: a conflict of norms and the emerging policy landscape,” International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 93, No. 883, pp. 623–47 (Sept. 2011) (co-author)

“The Dark Sides of Convergence: A Pro-Civilian Critique of the Extraterritorial Application of Human Rights Law in Armed Conflict,” 86 International Law Studies 349 (Naval War College, Blue Book) (2010) (recipient of the Lieber Prize of the American Society of International Law)

“Taking Islamic Law Seriously: INGOs and the Battle for Muslim Hearts and Minds,” 19 Harvard Human Rights Journal 191 (2006)

HLS PILAC Reports and Briefings

“Resolution 2664 (2022) and Counterterrorism Measures: An Analytical Frame for States,” Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict, March 2024 (co-author with Dustin A. Lewis and Radhika Kapoor)

“An Interpretive Note for U.N. Member States on Security Council Resolution 2664 (2022),” Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict, March 2023 (co-author with Radhika Kapoor and Dustin A. Lewis)

“Advancing Humanitarian Commitments in Connection with Countering Terrorism: Exploring a Foundational Reframing concerning the Security Council,” A Guide for States, HLS PILAC, December 2021 (co-author with Dustin A. Lewis and Radhika Kapoor)

“Taking into Account the Potential Effects of Counterterrorism Measures on Humanitarian and Medical Activities: Elements of an Analytical Framework for States Grounded in Respect for International Law,” Legal Briefing, HLS PILAC, May 2021 (co-author with Dustin A. Lewis)

“Preparing for a Twenty-Four-Month Sprint: A Primer for Prospective and New Elected Members of the United Nations Security Council,” HLS PILAC, December 2020 (with Will Ossoff and Dustin A. Lewis)

“Quantum of Silence: Inaction and Jus ad Bellum,” HLS PILAC, 2019 (co-author with Dustin A. Lewis and Gabriella Blum)

“The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate and International Humanitarian Law: Preliminary Considerations for States,” Legal Briefing, HLS PILAC, March 2020 (co-author with Dustin A. Lewis and Jessica S. Burniske). See a related blog entry on Lawfare.

“Armed Non-State Actors and International Human Rights Law: An Analysis of the Practice of the U.N. Security Council and the U.N. General Assembly,” Briefing Report, HLS PILAC, June 2017 (co-author with Jessica S. Burniske and Dustin A. Lewis)

“Pilot Empirical Survey Study on the Impact of Counterterrorism Measures on Humanitarian Action,” Counterterrorism and Humanitarian Engagement Project at HLS PILAC, March 2017 (co-author with Jessica S. Burniske). See also Comment on the Study, March 2017 [link].

“Indefinite War: Unsettled International Law on the End of Armed Conflict,” Legal Briefing, HLS PILAC, February 2017 (co-author with Dustin A. Lewis and Gabriella Blum). See also a related Lawfare post [link].

“War-Algorithm Accountability,” Research Briefing, HLS PILAC, August 2016 (co-author with Dustin A. Lewis and Gabriella Blum). See also a related Lawfare post [link].

“Suppressing Foreign Terrorist Fighters and Supporting Principled Humanitarian Action: A Provisional Framework for Analyzing State Practice,” Briefing Report, HLS PILAC, October 2015 (by Jessica Burniske and Dustin A. Lewis with Naz K. Modirzadeh).

“Medical Care in Armed Conflict: International Humanitarian Law and State Responses to Terrorism,” Legal Briefing, HLS PILAC, September 2015 (co-author with Dustin A. Lewis and Gabriella Blum). See also related Lawfare post [link].

Opinion Note

“Humanitarian values in a counterterrorism era,” 103 International Review of the Red Cross 401 (2021) (co-author with Dustin A. Lewis).

Humanitarian Practice Network Papers

“Counter-terrorism laws and regulations: what aid agencies need to know,” Humanitarian Practice Network Paper, Overseas Development Institute, No. 79, November 2014 (co-author)

Harvard Law School Case-Study Simulation Exercises

“Civilian Protection in Partnered Conflicts: Case-Study Simulation Exercise,” Harvard Law School Case Studies Program, October 2018 (co-author)

“Somalia in Crisis: Famine, Counterterrorism, and Humanitarian Aid: Case-Study Simulation Exercises,” Harvard Law School Case Studies Program, February 2015 (co-author):

Part A: General Background Document

Part B1: The National Security Council Dilemma

Part B2: The NGO General Counsel Dilemma

Working Group Briefing Memoranda

Katie King with Naz K. Modirzadeh and Dustin A. Lewis, “Understanding Humanitarian Exemptions: U.N. Security Council Practice and Principled Humanitarian Action,” Working Group Briefing Memorandum, Counterterrorism and Humanitarian Engagement Project, April 2016.  

Security Council Briefing

Remarks to the U.N. Security Council, Briefing on the Promotion and Strengthening of the Rule of Law in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security: International Humanitarian Law, 8499th Meeting, April 1, 2019, United Nations Headquarters, New York, U.N. doc. S/PV.8499, pp. 6–7

Select Blog Posts

“The U.N. Security Council Adopts a Standing Humanitarian ‘Carve-out’,” Lawfare, December 13, 2022 (co-author)

“Counterterrorism and Humanitarian Action: Will 2020 Be a Turning Point for International Humanitarian Law at the United Nations?,” Lawfare, March 31, 2020 (co-author)

“Expert views on the frontiers of artificial intelligence and conflict,” Humanitarian Law and Policy Blog, March 19, 2019 (co-author)

“The Pentagon’s New Algorithmic-Warfare Team,” Lawfare, June 26, 2017 (co-author)

“Indefinite War,” Lawfare, February 27, 2017 (co-author)

“Accountability for Algorithmic Autonomy in War,” Lawfare, September 12, 2016 (co-author)

“Amid Investigations of Hospital Bombings, Don’t Lose Sight of Key Principles,” Lawfare, October 30, 2015 (co-author)

“Medical Care in Armed Conflict: IHL and State Responses to Terrorism,” Lawfare, September 8, 2015 (co-author)

“Folk Law and Obama Administration Mythology,” Lawfare, October 26, 2014

“A Reply to Marty Lederman,” Lawfare, October 3, 2014

“Folk International Law and Syrian Airstrikes,” Lawfare, October 2, 2014

“Guest Post: Strong Words, Weak Arguments – A Response to the Open Letter to the UN on Humanitarian Access to Syria (Part 2),” Opiniojuris.com, May 12, 2014

“Guest Post: Strong Words, Weak Arguments – A Response to the Open Letter to the UN on Humanitarian Access to Syria (Part 1),” Opiniojuris.com, May 12, 2014

“Guest Post: How International Law Could Work in Transnational Non-International Armed Conflicts: Part II of a Two-Part Series,” Opiniojuris.com, April 11, 2013 (with Jonathan Horowitz)

“Guest Post: How International Law Could Work in Transnational Non-International Armed Conflicts: Part I of a Two-Part Series,” Opiniojuris.com, April 11, 2013 (with Jonathan Horowitz)

U.N. Security Council Briefings

“Arria”-formula meeting convened by Mexico titled “Upholding the collective security system of the UN Charter: the use of force in international law, non-state actors and legitimate self-defense,” Feb. 24, 2021 [video available at this link]

Briefing on the Promotion and Strengthening of the Rule of Law in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security: International Humanitarian Law, April 1, 2019, 8499th Meeting of the Security Council

Recent Events

Past
The Geneva Conventions at 75
Mar 12
The Geneva Conventions at 75

This workshop aimed to explore select issues pertaining to the changing contexts, implementation, and enduring relevance concerning the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Workshop on Legal Roles and Responsibilities concerning Large-Scale Combat Operations
Mar 23
Workshop on Legal Roles and Responsibilities concerning Large-Scale Combat Operations

On March 23–24, HLS PILAC, the ICRC, and the Lieber Institute will convene a private workshop at Harvard Law School titled “Legal Roles and Responsibilities concerning Large-Scale Combat Operations.”

Webinar on UN Sanctions, International Humanitarian Law and Humanitarian Action
May 24
Webinar on UN Sanctions, International Humanitarian Law and Humanitarian Action

A webinar on the UN Security Council’s approach to humanitarian action, with HLS PILAC Founding Director Naz K. Modirzadeh as a guest speaker.

Image credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elías

Workshop on International Law Applicable to Urban Siege Warfare
Mar 31
Workshop on International Law Applicable to Urban Siege Warfare

On March 31–April 1, HLS PILAC, the ICRC, and the Lieber Institute will convene a workshop on International Law Applicable to Urban Siege Warfare. Image credit: ICRC (Yemen).

Not All State Silences 'Speak'
Mar 29
Not All State Silences 'Speak'

In this lecture, Dr. Danae Azaria will argue that a distinction can be drawn in international law between on the one hand State silence that speaks, and on the other hand rules on presumptions about the state of mind of a State drawn from the fact of State silence.

United Nations Security Council Open “Arria-Formula” Meeting
Feb 24
United Nations Security Council Open “Arria-Formula” Meeting

Prof. Modirzadeh will brief a U.N. Security Council “Arria-formula” meeting, convened by Mexico, on “Upholding the collective security system of the UN Charter: the use of force in international law, non-state actors and legitimate self-defense.” Image credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

Partnered Warfare: International Law and Policy Dimensions
Dec 3
Partnered Warfare: International Law and Policy Dimensions

HLS PILAC, the ICRC, and the Stockton Center for International Law are co-sponsoring a workshop at which practitioners and scholars will explore several legal and policy dimensions concerning diverse forms of partnerships in contemporary armed conflicts. Image credit: Staff Sgt. Jason Hull.

Workshop on the Resort to Force by Australia and the United States
Nov 4
Workshop on the Resort to Force by Australia and the United States

A workshop jointly convened by HLS PILAC and ANU CMSL at which scholars and practitioners will discuss certain international legal aspects concerning the resort to force by Australia and the United States in relation to six contexts/situations: Vietnam, Iraq 1991, Afghanistan 2001, Iraq 2003, ISIS, and Combined Maritime Forces.

Image credit: Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Nicholas Filca (2019).

UN Security Council Briefing on IHL and Counter-terrorism Measures
Apr 1
UN Security Council Briefing on IHL and Counter-terrorism Measures

Briefing on the Promotion and Strengthening of the Rule of Law in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security: International Humanitarian Law, UN Security Council 8499th Meeting, April 1, 2019. Image credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

Artificial Intelligence at the Frontiers of International Law concerning Armed Conflict
Dec 3
Artificial Intelligence at the Frontiers of International Law concerning Armed Conflict

On December 3–4, 2018, the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict, the International Committee of the Red Cross Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada, and the Stockton Center for International Law of the U.S. Naval War College will convene a workshop entitled “Artificial Intelligence at the Frontiers of International Law concerning Armed Conflict.”

Examining Recent Legal and Policy Developments at the United Nations Security Council concerning Technology and Counterterrorism
Apr 10
Examining Recent Legal and Policy Developments at the United Nations Security Council concerning Technology and Counterterrorism

An informal discussion with Dr. David Scharia, Director, Chief of Branch, ‎United Nations Security Council – Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED). Image credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider.

U.N.G.A. High-Level Side Event: Protecting Health Care in Armed Conflict
Sep 22
U.N.G.A. High-Level Side Event: Protecting Health Care in Armed Conflict

With the aim to advance international efforts, including those of the UN, to protect health care in conflict areas in follow-up to UNSC Resolution 2286, the Permanent Missions of Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom in collaboration with the Lancet-American University of Beirut Commission on Syria and Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition, are organizing a High-Level Side Event during the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Image credit: swedennewyork, “The ECOSOC Council Chamber,” on Flickr; license: Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0). 

Impact of Counter-Terrorism Measures on Humanitarian Action
Jun 22
Impact of Counter-Terrorism Measures on Humanitarian Action

This side event is presented by the Switzerland and the Harvard Law School, Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and organised in the framework of the ECOSOC Humanitarian Segment.Photo credit: U.N. Photo/Stuart Price (Flickr).

International Legal Implications of Military Space Operations
Feb 9
International Legal Implications of Military Space Operations

On February 9–10, 2017, the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (HLS PILAC), the International Committee of the Red Cross Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada, and the Stockton Center for the Study of International Law, U.S. Naval War College, convened a workshop in Newport, Rhode Island entitled “International Legal Implications of Military Space Operations.”

War Algorithms and International Law: Accountability for Technical Autonomy in Armed Conflict
Nov 1
War Algorithms and International Law: Accountability for Technical Autonomy in Armed Conflict

PHAP Expert Legal Briefing by Naz Modirzadeh and Dustin Lewis on developments in technology, accountability, and international law pertaining to armed conflict. Image credit: Christiaan Colen, “Rootkit code,” Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.

International Law and Global Non-International Armed Conflict
Aug 4
International Law and Global Non-International Armed Conflict

In this lecture, Professor Naz Modirzadeh will analyse the legal arguments developed by the US to justify its resort to force, as well as recent developments in the approach to international law taken by other states participating in the massive campaign against ISIS. Image credit: US Air Force (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Joseph Swafford), Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0 License. 

Expert Briefing on the Humanitarian Exemptions Debate: U.N. Security Council Sanctions and Principled Humanitarian Action
Jul 19
Expert Briefing on the Humanitarian Exemptions Debate: U.N. Security Council Sanctions and Principled Humanitarian Action

At this expert online briefing, Naz K. Modirzadeh and Dustin A. Lewis will synthesize recent research “humanitarian exemptions”: what they are; who and what they do and should cover; and what the debate surrounding them is. Image credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

Global Battlefields: The Future of U.S. Detention under International Law
May 16
Global Battlefields: The Future of U.S. Detention under International Law

On May 16 and 17, a workshop on “Global Battlefields: The Future of U.S. Detention under International Law” took place at Harvard Law School. Image credit: U.S. Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan, “Detention Facility in Parwan,” Flickr.

Ninth Solf-Warren Lecture in International and Operational Law
Apr 28
Ninth Solf-Warren Lecture in International and Operational Law

Naz K. Modirzadeh will present the Ninth Waldemar A. Solf and Marc L. Warren Lecture in International and Operational Law. Her lecture is titled “The Law(s) That Bind: Human Rights Goes to War.” Image credit: United States Forces Iraq, “Patrolling Mosul,” Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

PHAP Expert IHL Briefing - International law at the vanishing point of war
Feb 23
PHAP Expert IHL Briefing - International law at the vanishing point of war

At this PHAP online IHL expert briefing, Naz Modirzadeh and Dustin Lewis, of the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (PILAC), will discuss initial PILAC research on the “end” of armed conflict under IHL. Photo credit: Gonzalo Alonso, “150916-A-NJ230-447,” Flickr, License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

PHAP Expert IHL Briefing - Suppressing foreign terrorist fighters and supporting principled humanitarian action
Dec 17
PHAP Expert IHL Briefing - Suppressing foreign terrorist fighters and supporting principled humanitarian action

At this PHAP online expert IHL briefing, Dustin Lewis and Naz Modirzadeh will present their research on suppressing “foreign terrorist fighters” and supporting principled humanitarian action in counterterrorism contexts. Photo credit: Russ Allison Loar, “UN Security Council & UN Security Guard,” June 19, 2014 Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license. 

Side Event on Counterterrorism Measures and Humanitarian Action
Dec 9
Side Event on Counterterrorism Measures and Humanitarian Action

The side event to the 32nd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent will provide a guided discussion on counterterrorism measures and humanitarian action. Photo credit: UN Geneva/Jean-Marc Ferré, “Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction,” Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Clausewitz’s On War: Contemporary Relevance
Dec 4
Clausewitz’s On War: Contemporary Relevance

Naz Modirzadeh will take part in an event the contemporary relevance of Clausewitz’s On War, convened by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense. Photo credit: Michael Levine-Clark, “Old Books 4,” Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

PHAP Expert IHL Briefing - Medical Care in Armed Conflict: IHL and State Responses to Terrorism
Nov 3
PHAP Expert IHL Briefing - Medical Care in Armed Conflict: IHL and State Responses to Terrorism

At this PHAP online expert IHL briefing, Dustin Lewis and Naz Modirzadeh, two of the authors of a recent report from the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (HLS PILAC), will present their research on IHL and medical care concerning terrorists in armed conflict. Photo credit: Marines, “No Marine Left Behind,” Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0.

Generating respect for the law: Taking stock, moving forward
Oct 22
Generating respect for the law: Taking stock, moving forward

The conference will be the occasion to take stock of the efforts made so far to prevent violations of the law in armed conflict and discuss the recent developments in the sector. Photo credit: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, “The 1949 Geneva Conventions from the viewpoint of the British Judiciary,” Flickr, License: CC BY-ND 2.0.

Introduction to PILAC
Sep 21
Introduction to PILAC

Come learn about the work of and student opportunities with the HLS Program on International Law and Armed Conflict.

Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries - Panel Event on Foreign Fighters
Jul 23
Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries - Panel Event on Foreign Fighters

PILAC Director Naz Modirzadeh took part in a United Nations panel on “Foreign fighters in armed conflict: human rights and humanitarian law implications.”  Photo credit: UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz, “Security Council Ministerial Meeting on Foreign Terrorist Fighters,” May 29, 2015.

2015 ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment: Counter-terrorism Measures and Principled Humanitarian Action
Jun 19
2015 ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment: Counter-terrorism Measures and Principled Humanitarian Action

In some cases, counter-terrorism laws and policies can impede the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance. An enhanced dialogue between humanitarian organizations, Member States and the UN is needed to better reconcile the implementation of counter-terrorism measures with the ability of humanitarian organizations to respond to humanitarian needs in a timely and principled manner and in accordance with international humanitarian law. Photo credit: European Commission DG ECHO, “Libya crisis 2012, September - October,” Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0 license. 

Demobilizing and Disengaging Violent Extremists: Practical Experience from Somalia
Jun 4
Demobilizing and Disengaging Violent Extremists: Practical Experience from Somalia

On June 4, 2015, the United Nations University, in concert with the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) section of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), will convene a conference with senior experts on Demobilizing and Disengaging Violent Extremists: Practical Lessons from Somalia at UN Headquarters. Photo credit: UN Photo/Tobin Jones.

The Law of War Above the Fold
Apr 10
The Law of War Above the Fold

After highlighting a number of scenarios from current armed conflicts that have been featured in prominent recent news stories (at the time of the conference), speakers will identify the relevant international humanitarian law, international criminal law, or international human rights law doctrines implicated argue for or against a specific position posed by the moderator concerning that issue and that scenario. Photo credit: m01229, “Newseum newspaper headlines,” CC BY 2.0. 

Select Audio Recordings

Humanity in War, Episode 1: Humanitarian Values in a Counterterrorism Era, International Review of the Red Cross (May 18, 2022), https://soundcloud.com/user-134233261/humanitarian-values-in-a-counterterrorism-era (with Naz Modirzadeh and Dustin Lewis).

Partnering for Comprehensive Protection: National Implementation of Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflicts, Center for Civilians in Conflict (Jan. 26, 2022), https://civiliansinconflict.org/partnering-for-comprehensive-protection/ (with Naz Modirzadeh).

Jus Cogens: The International Law Podcast, Implications of State Silence concerning the Right to Self-Defense, Jus Cogens (Nov. 23, 2021), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBYvlqnjz28&ab_channel=JusCogens (with Naz Modirzadeh).

Implications of the Diversity of the Rules on the Use of Force for Change in Law, American Society of International Law (Sept. 27, 2021), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhKJZpEM73s&ab_channel=asil1906 (with Naz Modirzadeh).

Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh, Hold Your Fire!, International Crisis Group (Sept. 3, 2020), https://www.crisisgroup.org/hold-your-fire-podcast (with Naz Modirzadeh).

Episodes with Naz Modirzadeh:

Season 1

  • Episode 1: Israel, the UAE, and Normalisation

  • Episode 2: Afghan Peace Talks: Dealing with the Taliban

  • Episode 3: Ethiopia's Political Crisis

  • Episode 4: Libya's Proxy War

  • Episode 5: President Trump’s Off-the-Rails Foreign Policy

  • Episode 6: What’s Behind the Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh

  • Episode 7: Turkey Flexes Its Foreign Policy Muscles

  • Episode 8: What Makes Peace? Colombia’s Ex-President Santos Says It’s Harder than War

  • Episode 17: 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2021

  • Episode 18: Social Media and the U.S. Capitol Events

  • Episode 19: U.S. Sanctions: An Overused Foreign Policy Tool?

  • Episode 20: Syria’s Frozen Conflict  

  • Episode 21: Africa in 2021

  • Episode 22: Latin America’s Tough Year Ahead

  • Episode 24: The War in the Sahel

  • Episode 25: A Dangerous New Turn in Yemen’s War

  • Special Episode: Gender and Conflict

  • Episode 26: The War on Drugs in Colombia’s Countryside

  • Episode 27: Good News in Libya?

  • Episode 29: Tshisekedi Consolidates Power in DR Congo

  • Episode 30: How Afghanistan Views the U.S. Troop Drawdown 

  • Episode 31: Is the Gulf Dispute Actually Over?

  • Episode 32: Rising Russia-Ukraine Tensions and the West 

  • Episode 33: What Déby’s Death Means for Chad and the Region

  • Episode 34: Delayed Palestinian Polls, Israeli Politics and U.S. Middle East Policy

  • Episode 35: UN Security Council Crankiness and Antonio Guterres' Re-election

  • Episode 39: COVID-19, Inequality and Protests in Colombia 

  • Episode 40: Iran: the Vote and the Bomb

  • Episode 41: Biden in Europe

  • Episode 42: A Dramatic Turn in Ethiopia’s Tigray War

  • Episode 43: Ten Years of South Sudanese Statehood

  • Episode 46: Iraq: Protests, Iran’s Role and an End to U.S. Combat Operations

Season 2

  • Episode 1: Afghanistan: the Islamic State, Still No Taliban Government and a Looming Humanitarian Catastrophe

  • Episode 2: Al-Qaeda and ISIS Twenty Years after 9/11

  • Episode 3: License to Kill: Lawyering in the War on Terror

  • Episode 4: Avoiding Another Afghanistan: Could Al-Shabaab Seize Power in Somalia? 

  • Episode 5: Could Talking to Mali's Jihadists Bring Peace?

  • Episode 6: Lebanon is Falling Apart 

  • Episode 7: Cameroon's Forgotten Anglophone Conflict 

  • Episode 9: The Military’s Dangerous Power Grab in Sudan 

  • Episode 11: Bosnia Unravelling? 

  • Episode 12: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte: Populist or Peacemaker?

  • Episode 13: Western Policy and Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Devastation. 

  • Episode 16: Can the U.S. Address Migration’s “Root Causes” in Central America?

  • Episode 17: Will the Iran Nuclear Deal Survive and What Happens if Not?

  • International Women’s Day Special Episode: Can War Be Feminist?

  • Episode 24: France’s Troop Withdrawal from Mali

  • Episode 27: Can a “Humanitarian Truce” Help End Ethiopia’s Civil War?

  • Episode 28: Can a Truce and New Government Help End Yemen’s War?

  • Episode 32: Taliban Rule in Afghanistan

Advanced Practitioner Series, Counterterrorism Laws and Their Impact on Humanitarian Action, Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (May 12, 2017), https://phap.org/PHAP/Events/OEV2017/OEV170512.aspx?EventKey=OEV170512 (with Naz Modirzadeh).

Online Expert Briefing, War Algorithms and International Law: Accountability for Technical Autonomy in Armed Conflict, Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (Nov. 1, 2016), https://phap.org/PHAP/Events/OEV2016/OEV161101.aspx?EventKey=OEV161101 (with Naz Modirzadeh and Dustin Lewis).

Up Close, Twisting the Law on the Way to the Battlefield: How the US Stretches International and Domestic Laws to Wage War on Non-State Islamist Forces, and How Those Forces Invoke Islamic Law to Justify Their Own Actions, Pursuit (Sept. 9, 2016), https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/podcasts/twisting-the-law-on-the-way-to-the-battlefield (with Naz Modirzadeh).

Online Expert Briefing, The Humanitarian Exemptions Debate, Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (July 19, 2016), https://phap.org/PHAP/Events/OEV2016/OEV160719.aspx?EventKey=OEV160719 (with Naz Modirzadeh and Dustin Lewis).

PHAP Expert IHL Briefing, International Law at the Vanishing Point of War, Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (Feb. 23, 2016), https://phap.org/PHAP/Events/OEV2016/OEV160223.aspx?EventKey=OEV160223 (with Naz Modirzadeh and Dustin Lewis).

PHAP Expert IHL Briefing, Suppressing Foreign Terrorist Fighters and Supporting Principled Humanitarian Action, Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (Dec. 17, 2015), https://phap.org/PHAP/Events/OEV2015/OEV151217.aspx?WebsiteKey=8052120b-9239-4731-a3ab-1336a529e920 (with Naz Modirzadeh and Dustin Lewis).

Online Expert Briefing, Medical Care in Armed Conflict: IHL and State Responses to Terrorism, Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (Nov. 3, 2015), https://phap.org/PHAP/Events/OEV2015/OEV151103.aspx?WebsiteKey=8052120b-9239-4731-a3ab-1336a529e920 (with Naz Modirzadeh and Dustin Lewis).

PHAP Online Briefing, Islamic Law, Terrorism, and Counterterrorism, Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (Dec. 16, 2014), https://phap.org/PHAP/Events/OEV2014/OEV141216.aspx?WebsiteKey=8052120b-9239-4731-a3ab-1336a529e920 (with Naz Modirzadeh) (recording available to members only).

GISF Webinar: The Impact of Counter-terrorism Legislation on Humanitarian Operations and Security Risk Management, Global Interagency Security Forum (Nov. 20, 2014), https://gisf.ngo/eisf-webcast-the-impact-of-counter-terrorism-legislation-on-humanitarian-operations-and-security-risk-management/ (with Naz Modirzadeh).