布魯斯·霍夫曼博士話，分唔清國家同非國家嘅暴力會導致忽略一個事實，即「這兩種暴力間的本質不同」。霍夫曼話，即使喺戰爭度，都存在規約同畀普遍接受嘅行爲準則，即禁止使用一啲特定武器同策略，以及襲擊一啲特定目標。比如，《日內瓦公約》同《海牙公約》均列明，戰爭入邊禁止將平民當成人質，對平民或戰俘做出報復，入侵中立領土等。霍夫曼仲覺得，當國家違反咗呢啲規例陣，應該引用「戰爭罪」論處。
Dr. Bruce · Hoffman said that the inability to distinguish between state and non-state violence leads to ignoring the fact that "the two types of violence are fundamentally different." Even in war, Hoffman said, there are statutes and generally accepted rules of conduct that prohibit the use of certain weapons and tactics, as well as attacks on specific targets. For example, the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Convention both stipulate that it is forbidden to take civilians as hostages, retaliate against civilians or prisoners of war, invade neutral territory, etc. Hoffman also felt that "war crimes" should be invoked when countries violate these regulations.