Executive Branch
Just Security’s expert authors provide analysis of the U.S. executive branch related to national security, rights, and the rule of law. Analysis and informational resources focus on the executive branch’s powers and their limits, and the actions of the president, administrative agencies, and federal officials.
4,799 Articles
The White House’s New Fraud Section: Key Questions
The plan for a new DOJ fraud division, reportedly run from the White House, raises major legal and policy questions about executive power and DOJ independence.
Hypothetical Legal Review of Use of the U.S. Military in Greenland
This hypothetical legal review imagines what a senior judge advocate’s legal analysis would be if ordered to plan a U.S. military operation in Greenland without Denmark's consent.
Using an Unmarked Aircraft to Attack an Alleged Drug Boat: Is it Perfidy?
Did the Sept. 2 strike on suspected drug traffickers using an unmarked aircraft violate the prohibition on perfidy, or other LOAC rules, had there been an armed conflict?
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Let Not Arrogance Be Our Doom
With humility and our collective morals and values, we must extinguish the flames of hubris in US foreign and domestic policy, or "our arrogance will be our doom."
Military Force Will Not Help the People of Iran
This is an Iranian uprising, and it is up to the people of Iran to decide their own future.
How Congress Can Preserve NATO and Greenland: Using 22 USC 1928f to Protect the Peace
Trump’s threats to invade Greenland risk destroying NATO itself, but a little-known statute, 22 U.S.C. 1928f, could prevent him from doing just that.
Legal and Practical Implications of the U.S. Withdrawal from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change
The U.S. withdrawal from the UNFCCC is a further blow to climate cooperation and a demonstration of U.S. foreign policy volatility.
The North Atlantic Treaty and a U.S. Attack on Denmark
Would NATO have to defend Denmark if the United States attempted to seize Greenland? Article 5 suggests other allies are obligated to come to Denmark's defense if requested.
War Powers, Venezuela, Drug Boats, and Congress
The last year of unauthorized military interventions and the president’s threats should spur Congress to reassert its constitutional prerogatives over the use of force.
Trump’s New Year Foreign Policy: The Risk that the Bold and the Bad Outweigh the Constructive
Trump’s foreign policy remains an inconsistent array of initiatives and adventures: bold in Latin America, bad in Greenland, yet often constructive on Ukrainian security.
Will Trump Allow Private Equity to Gut the Army Too?
Previous Army privatization experiences demonstrate that the logic of Secretary Driscoll’s proposal to court private equity firms is difficult to defend.
Expert Q&A on U.S. Military Actions in Venezuela and Boat Strikes
Expert FAQ on the U.S. military operations against Venezuela, high seas boat strikes, seizure of vessels and more.