Tethering the Law of Armed Conflict to Operational Practice: 'Organized Armed Group' Membership in the Age of ISIS

Abstract

The article begins with a background section discussing organized armed groups (OAG), such as ISIS, and the consequences of membership in such a group. A survey of the various methods of determining OAG membership, and the practical applicability of each approach to ISIS, follows. Based upon this comparison, the article concludes that more restrictive membership criteria create an unworkable paradigm that does not match the realities of the modern battlefield. Instead, an expansive understanding of who qualifies as a member of an OAG is not only practical, but necessary for providing underlying support for the principle of distinction in non-international armed conflicts.

Keywords: law of armed conflict, international humanitarian law, organized armed group, ISIS, status-based targeting, non-international armed conflicts, continuous combat function

JEL Classification: K33