Just security

President Donald Trump’s willingness to personally intervene and offer U.S. mediation to de-escalate so many interstate conflicts at once is significant in the modern presidency. His engagement has contributed to some early – albeit tentative – breakthroughs toward peace in conflicts between the Democratic Republic of the Congo … Turning Trump’s Peace Overtures into Sustainable DealsRead more

It is a virtuous tenet of American civil society that citizens have the right to criticize their government and its elected leaders without fear of reprisal. But, if you are a retired military officer whose years of honorable service lie in your rearview mirror, you may have to … Could Trump Use the Uniform Code of Military Justice to Stifle the Protected Speech of Military Retirees?Read more

Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news: U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS — AFGHANISTAN POLICY The United States is seeking to regain control of the Bagram air base in Afghanistan, … Early Edition: September 19, 2025Read more

Today marks the expiration of the General Assembly’s one-year deadline for Israel to comply with its legal obligations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), those outlined in the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion on the “Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel … From Peacekeepers to Naval Convoys: Weighing the Options (and Legal Limits) on More Concerted General Assembly Action on GazaRead more

U.S. President Donald Trump has asserted that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) gives him the authority to take unprecedented economic measures, including imposing tariffs, to address purported international emergencies. Courts are now hearing legal challenges to some of these measures while commentators struggle to make sense … Rethinking IEEPA Accountability and OversightRead more

Editor’s Note: This immigration law syllabus supplement offers curated articles from Just Security’s archives, intended to be combined with traditional casebooks and other materials in an immigration law classroom setting. The selections have been curated to reflect recent, compelling illustrations of core immigration topics that are likely to … Immigration Law: Syllabus SupplementsRead more

Leading scholar on domestic violent extremism and prevention strategies, Cynthia Miller-Idriss, joins Just Security Senior Fellow Tom Joscelyn to discuss her new book, Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism. They explore the intersection of gender, radicalization, and violence. Show Notes:  Man Up: The … The Just Security Podcast: Misogyny’s Role in Violent ExtremismRead more

Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS In a social media post, President Trump yesterday said that he is designating Antifa as a “major terrorist … Early Edition: September 18, 2025Read more

The annual diplomatic jamboree that is the United Nations General Assembly’s “high-level week” is approaching, and U.S. participation this year will unfold in the shadow of a U.S. multilateral retreat. The Trump administration has announced the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization, the Paris climate agreement, and … Washington’s Multilateral Retreat Creates an Opening for State and Local LeadersRead more

On Sept. 2, the Trump administration announced a lethal strike against what it said was a drug smuggling vessel in the Caribbean, killing eleven people in what amounted to a summary execution of civilians. A second strike followed on Sept. 15, reportedly killing three people. The administration has … Murder by Drone: The Legal and Moral Stakes of the Caribbean StrikesRead more

Israel’s Sept. 9 strikes on Hamas leaders in Qatar provoked rare international criticism—not only for the attack itself, but for the way it was carried out. The strike blindsided both Washington and Doha, arriving with little warning, killing six, and drawing unusually sharp criticism from U.S. President Donald … Israel’s Strike on Doha: A Crisis for U.S. Credibility?Read more

Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news: U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS President Trump yesterday suggested that the United States has “knocked off” three alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, … Early Edition: September 17, 2025Read more

Calls for States to take “sanctions” against Israel have grown in number and strength in recent weeks (e.g., here). Such calls take place within the context of Israel’s manifold violations of international law, progressively worse conditions for those in Gaza, and escalating extremist settler violence in the occupied … Sanctions against Israel: An International Law PerspectiveRead more

On Sept. 16, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (COI) published a report finding that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The Commission concluded that Israel has committed four of the five underlying acts of genocide listed in the 1948 Genocide … U.N. Commission Finds That Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza: What Does It Mean?Read more

On Sept. 2 and 15, the United States military carried out unprecedented strikes against vessels suspected of narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean, destroying the vessels and reportedly killing 14 people on board the vessels. The Trump administration has said more such strikes will follow. In this collection, experts … Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug TraffickersRead more

Many world leaders will arrive at the United Nations for their annual high-level meeting in the last week of September with a sense of trepidation. Although the U.N. is marking the 80th anniversary of its founding, three less happy themes will overshadow the gathering. The first is the … At the Coming U.N. Leaders Meetings: Existential Questions on the U.S. Role, Israel-Palestine, and the U.N. ItselfRead more

On a Friday evening in November 2018, a 40-year-old man opened fire in a second-story yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida, killing two women and injuring five others, including four women, before his weapon malfunctioned. It is hard to imagine a case with more red flags indicating an ongoing … How Misogyny Fuels Violent ExtremismRead more

On Sept. 9, Israel mounted “Operation Summit of Fire,” in which the Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck a residential and office compound in Doha, Qatar, used by senior Hamas leaders involved in ongoing ceasefire talks with Israel that were being brokered by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt. … Striking Hamas in Qatar: “Unwilling or Unable”?Read more

Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news: ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR  There are reasonable grounds to conclude Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the U.N. Independent International Commission … Early Edition: September 16, 2025Read more

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015 is set to expire at the end of this month on September 30, 2025. The Act removes barriers to companies sharing information about cyber threats, addressing privacy concerns and requires the federal government to share threat information. Many consider CISA … The Just Security Podcast: What Just Happened – CISA and the Fate of U.S. CybersecurityRead more

Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1. Court Concerns of Noncompliance with Judicial Orders 1. “Bad faith” conduct and “gleeful” boasts culminate in “willful” disobedience and probable cause for criminal contempt 2-a. Post-Supreme Court reporting orders met with non-answers and failures to comply 2-b. Expedited discovery ordered “in the … The “Presumption of Regularity” in Trump Administration LitigationRead more

The Trump administration has sought to frame its lethal strike on September 2nd in the Caribbean—reportedly killing 11 as yet unidentified people—as just another military counterterrorism operation. President Donald Trump referred to those killed as “narco-terrorists” and what little formal legal justification the administration has presented repeatedly refers … Asserting a License to Kill: Why the Caribbean Strike is a Dangerous Departure from the “War on Terror”Read more

Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news: ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR  The Israeli military yesterday announced it had struck multiple high-rise buildings in Gaza City, in what appeared to be an accelerating assault … Early Edition: September 15, 2025Read more

9/11 Anniversary How the United States Is Undoing the Post-9/11 Security Architecture That Has Kept It Safe by Donell Harvin U.S. Strike / Venezuela The Many Ways in Which the September 2 Caribbean Strike was Unlawful … and the Grave Line the Military Has Crossed by Marty Lederman … Digest of Recent Articles on Just Security (Sept. 8-12, 2025)Read more

On July 18, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the highest administrative immigration tribunal in the United States, issued a decision, Matter of K-E-S-G-, holding that a “particular social group” (PSG), a key term in the legal definition of a refugee, cannot be defined by sex (the term … In Immigration Decision K-E-S-G-, a Break with Precedent Turns Back the Clock on Women’s RightsRead more

Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news: GLOBAL AFFAIRS A panel of five Brazilian Supreme Court justices yesterday sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and three … Early Edition: September 12, 2025Read more

On Sept. 30, 2025, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA 2015) will expire. For a decade, the statute has been the legal backbone of U.S. cyber defense, born from the high-profile breaches that shook U.S. companies a decade ago and forced Congress to act. By creating … The Next Cyber Breach Will Not Wait: Why Congress Must Reauthorize CISA 2015Read more

Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news: U.S. POLITICAL VIOLENCE  An unknown gunman yesterday shot and killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University. … Early Edition: September 11, 2025Read more

Since 9/11, the United States has invested more than $1 trillion directly into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and trillions more dollars into wars fought in the name of counterterrorism, intelligence centers, surveillance, and counter-extremism programs. That money bought a sprawling security architecture that provided safer airports, … How the United States Is Undoing the Post-9/11 Security Architecture That Has Kept It SafeRead more

Just Security is proud to announce the publication of the latest book in our partnership with Oxford University Press, Perpetual War and International Law: Enduring Legacies of the War on Terror, edited by Brianna Rosen, Senior Fellow at Just Security and Director of the AI and Emerging Technologies … Book Release – Perpetual War and International Law: Enduring Legacies of the War on TerrorRead more