About the Institute

The Lieber Institute for Law and Warfare at West Point fosters a deeper understanding of the complex and evolving relationship between law and warfare. The Institute leverages academic and military expertise to examine the role of the law of armed conflict in emerging conflicts around the world and ensure the law’s relevance in contemporary warfare.

In today’s complicated battlespaces, the continued effectiveness and enforceability of the law is highly dependent on whether the expressed rules remain definitive, understood, and accepted. Yet contentious topics highlight a troubling lack of unanimity in the international community concerning the law. The Lieber Institute aims to address this challenge by creating a diverse community of thought through its events, publications, speaking engagements, research, and education initiatives. Only by proactively keeping the law of armed conflict relevant may the primacy of international law remain unquestioned in contemporary warfare.