The hottest War & Conflict Substack posts right now

Powerful states and elites are using overwhelming force with impunity to crush weaker peoples, turning war, resource theft and blockade into tools of control.
Global institutions, courts and media are failing or complicit, leaving the rule of law hollow and enabling authoritarian violence at home and abroad.
Even if risky or unlikely to succeed, resistance is presented as the only moral response to preserve dignity and prevent complete submission to a brutal, unequal order.

Military action by the US and Israel against Iran has escalated into open conflict, killing Iranian civilians—including many schoolgirls—and causing US military casualties after Iran’s retaliatory strikes.
US officials calling Iran’s strikes “unprovoked” looks hypocritical given the prior attacks, and the information war is full of misattribution and propaganda.
Iran is refusing quick deals and says it must inflict costs to establish deterrence, while the wider conflict is worsening humanitarian crises like Gaza’s border closure and looming food shortages.

The war with Iran isn’t clearly ending: calming words briefly soothed markets, but tougher threats and vows to keep fighting make a quick finish unlikely.
Calling for unconditional surrender is unrealistic and risky; Iran has agency and such demands are likely to prolong the conflict and raise the stakes.
Iran’s new leader faces a precarious, paranoid situation where external pressure and internal instability make survival and effective rule very uncertain.

Consistency in moral beliefs matters because it helps develop strong principles, even if some people misuse them for evil. Everyone has moral feelings, but transforming them into consistent principles guides better decision-making.
Emotions often sway how we care about tragic events, like feeling more for a child in Gaza because we relate to our own kids. It's okay to start from our emotional responses but using reason to guide our empathy can lead to better understanding.
Caring about tragedies shouldn't just be about feeling guilty or fulfilling a moral duty. True empathy comes from recognizing each individual's pain and using our principles to act on that concern, even if we can't feel the same way for everyone.

Israel has banned dozens of aid organizations from operating in Gaza, including Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, which looks like an effort to remove witnesses and limit independent reporting much like its ban on journalists.
Humanitarian groups, especially MSF, publicly documented systematic attacks on hospitals, destruction of medical equipment, and deliberate deprivation of essentials, with some reports characterizing the actions as tantamount to genocide.
Pro‑Israel lobbyists and political leaders are pushing to silence criticism in Western democracies, and allied governments — notably the U.S. under Trump in 2025 — have shown hypocrisy by expanding military actions while claiming pro‑free‑speech and anti‑war stances.

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The Gaza genocide exposes the limits of the post‑World War II, U.S.‑led rules‑based order and signals a weakening of American hegemony, producing a more chaotic and unstable global balance. This erosion of norms increases geopolitical instability even if U.S. military power remains significant.
Effective resistance can come from targeting strategic chokepoints—ports, supply chains, and critical infrastructure—and from building cross-border solidarity, since smaller or marginalized actors can inflict outsized impacts when they act strategically. Examples like actions at ports and Yemen’s strikes show how leverage at circulation points can matter more than conventional military power.
Democracies are consolidating authoritarian measures to suppress dissent while the left has been weakened by electoral cooptation; to push back requires rebuilding militant, long‑term movements and broad solidarity networks outside reliance on party elites. Sustained grassroots organizing, labor coordination, and community institutions are necessary to pressure power and defend civil liberties.

Many Ukrainians once admired Trump and felt hopeful about American support. Now, they feel let down and have even removed American flags from their uniforms.
Odesa's historic Bristol Hotel was badly damaged in a recent Russian missile strike, showing the impact of the war on civilian life and culture.
This destruction reflects a larger war not just on Ukraine but on its identity and heritage as well.

There are serious concerns about funding for Ukraine as some American lawmakers are against sending more money. This shows that support for Ukraine is facing challenges both in the U.S. and Europe.
There is a push for confiscating Russian assets, estimated at hundreds of billions, to help fund Ukraine's reconstruction. Many believe Russia should be held accountable for the costs of the war it started.
Legal frameworks are being discussed in various countries to enable the seizure of Russian assets, but action is needed urgently to support Ukraine's defense against Russia's aggression.

Ukraine is facing serious challenges as they struggle to push back against Russian advances. There's growing concern that they may need to make tough decisions regarding peace talks and territorial concessions.
There's a noticeable decline in the number of insects in many places, affecting the ecosystem. Experts suggest that various factors, including land use and climate change, could be causing this decline.
Some journalists are facing arrest for reporting on sensitive issues, showcasing concerns about freedom of the press in conflict zones like Israel and Lebanon. This raises questions about the safety and rights of reporters.