Janina Dill 

I am a Professor at the Blavatnik School of Government of the University of Oxford. I am Co-Director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict (ELAC) and a Professorial Fellow at Trinity College Oxford.

My research concerns the role of law and morality in international relations, specifically in war. I focus on three strands of work. 

First, I write about the legal requirements for the conduct of military operations, speaking to debates on International Law on the use of force and International Humanitarian Law. 

Second, I develop theories about how international law can be an instrument of morality in war, albeit an imperfect one. This work contributes to debates in just war theory and jurisprudence.

Third, I seek to explain how moral and legal norms affect the reality of war. I investigate the capacity of law to constrain military decision-making, how norms shape public opinion and the attitudes of conflict-affected populations i.e. in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Iraq.

In 2021, I won a Philip Leverhulme Prize for researchers "whose work has had international impact and whose future research career is exceptionally promising." I am using the prize to conduct research on decision-making in war. 

In 2022-2024, I co-convened (with Scott Sagan) a research project on the "Law and Ethics of Nuclear Deterrence, funded by the MacArthur Foundation and hosted by the Harvard Belfer Centre. 

2024-2026, I am working on a three-year project entitled "Cumulative Civilian Harm: Addressing the Hidden Human Cost of the Law's Blind Spot", which is funded by a joint grant from the ESRC and the National Science Foundation. 

I am frequently asked to speak in the media on laws and ethics of war. Please see my Media page for details.