Article published in The Conversation on March 29, 2022

As the war in Ukraine continues, officials in the U.S. and Europe are sounding alarms about alleged war crimes being committed by Russian troops there. U.S. President Joe Biden has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal,” as has the U.S. Senate, on the grounds that schools, hospitals and civilian shelters appear to have been deliberately targeted by Russian forces.

If Putin is formally accused of war crimes, there are three kinds of courts that might call him to answer for them. We are scholars of dictators and conduct research on how they are held accountable for their actions. None of the available methods are likely to punish Putin any time soon, and they may even lead to more potential war crimes.

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