The face of modern warfare is changing as more and more humanitarian organizations, private military companies, and non-state armed groups enter complex security environments such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Haiti. Although this shift has been overshadowed by legal issues connected to the War on Terror and intervention in countries such as Rwanda and Sudan, it has caused some to question the relevance of the laws of war. Modern Warfare explores the law’s failure – and potential – to ensure compliance in the context of a changing military landscape; by doing so, it opens a path to preventing further unnecessary suffering and violence.

Benjamin Perrin is a professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. He has served in the Prime Minister’s Office as in-house legal counsel and lead policy advisor on criminal justice and public safety. He was also a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada. He is the author of Overdose: Heartbreak and Hope in Canada’s Opioid Crisis.

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• Commended, The Hill Times List of Top 100 Best Books for 2013