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The Rules of War : Throughline International courts investigating alleged war crimes have made headlines often in recent months. An arrest warrant has been issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin; arrest warrants have also been requested for senior Hamas and Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

What are these courts, where did they come from, and how did they come to decide the rules of war?

On today's episode, we travel from the battlefields of the U.S. Civil War, through the rubble of two world wars, to the hallways of the Hague, to trace modern attempts to define and prosecute war crimes.

Throughline

The Rules of War

The Rules of War

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Members of the jury sit in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands, on January 27, 2014.
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Bas Czerwinski/AFP via Getty Images
Members of the jury sit in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands, on January 27, 2014.
Bas Czerwinski/AFP via Getty Images

International courts investigating alleged war crimes have made headlines often in recent months. An arrest warrant has been issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin; arrest warrants have also been requested for senior Hamas and Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

What are these courts, where did they come from, and how did they come to decide the rules of war?

On today's episode, we travel from the battlefields of the U.S. Civil War, through the rubble of two world wars, to the hallways of the Hague, to trace modern attempts to define and prosecute war crimes.

Guests:

Michael Bryant, Professor of History and Legal Studies at Bryant University

David Bosco, author of Rough Justice: The International Criminal Court in a World of Power Politics