Reprisal is a technical term of international law, not merely a synonym for revenge. Lawful armed reprisals must be proportionate, follow a prior demand for redress that has failed, and target the offending state — not civilians. The UN Charter has narrowed their scope sharply, but the customary doctrine survives.
In domestic law and HR practice, ‘no reprisal’ clauses protect whistleblowers and complainants from retaliatory action by employers. For UPSC, the word is most valuable in answers on doctrines of armed response (surgical strikes, Balakot, Operation Sindoor) and on trade-war dynamics where countervailing duties function as reprisals.
