Cyril Foster Lecture 2026 casts spotlight on the ‘humanisation of war’

Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University Samuel Moyn returned to Oxford to deliver this year’s Cyril Foster Lecture to a fully booked audience at the Examination Schools on Thursday 7 May. Professor Moyn previously delivered the prestigious lecture in 2013, and his return marked a significant occasion in the series’ history. 

This year’s lecture, titled ‘Gaza, the Humanisation of War, and the Politics of International Law’, examined how attempts to place humane limits on warfare have shaped contemporary political debate and public understanding of conflict. 

Opening the lecture, Professor Moyn reflected on the difficulty of analysing events unfolding in real time, noting that ‘it’s always going to seem too early or too late to engage in the kind of analysis I am going to try, which might mean we miss the chance’. He went on to explore how activists, observers, and politicians have used the language of international law in responding to the war in Gaza, and questioned whether recent events have altered our understanding of international law as either a tool of the powerful or a weapon of the weak. 

Concluding the lecture, Professor Moyn challenged the audience to think critically about the role of legal frameworks in modern conflict, arguing that if ‘we never ask openly about what people are doing with the law, we don’t obtain the distance to ask what matters.’ 

The lecture ended with a vigorous question and answer session and was followed by a drinks reception at the Examination Schools, where attendees continued discussions prompted by Professor Moyn’s thought-provoking address.