In the context of war, perfidy is a form of deception in which one side promises to act in good faith (e.g., by raising a flag of surrender) with the intention of breaking that promise once the enemy has exposed themselves (e.g., by coming out of cover to capture the "surrendering" enemy). Perfidy constitutes a breach of the laws of war and therefore making it a war crime as it degrades the protections and mutual restraints developed in the interest of all parties, combatants, and civilians. In practice, combatants find it difficult to respect protected persons and objects if experience causes them to believe or suspect that their adversaries are abusing a claim to protection under international law to gain a military advantage.