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.
4,598 Articles
AUMF Proposals and Congressionally Mandated Reporting Requirements: Some Guideposts
In his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, President Obama called on Congress to authorize force against the Islamic State. This was consistent with the line he has been walking…
The Gov’t of Sri Lanka Responds to my NYT Op-Ed on U.S. War Crimes Probe of ex-Defense Secretary
The government of Sri Lanka’s Justice Deputy Minister has responded to an Op-Ed that I published in the New York Times in which I described the reasons that the United States…
Assessing (Again) the Defensive Operations in Syria
The military operations against the Islamic State and Khorasan group in Syria have already received a lot of attention among international lawyers. The conversation has focused…
2 Years and 55 Prisoners To Go: It’s Time for a Lot More Guantanamo Review Boards
In 2001, Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed al Sawah, a veteran of the war in Bosnia who’d joined up with al Qaeda in Afghanistan, landed in U.S. custody. Injured by a cluster bomb in the Afghan…
State of the Union Address: National Security Highlights
If you are interested in national security issues in last night’s State of the Union Address, be sure to check out this morning’s News Roundup from Ruchi Parekh and…
Charlie Hebdo, The Interview, and Censoring Torture Photos
In France and the United States, there seems to be near-universal agreement that to self-censor because of threats of violence is unwise and cowardly. The slogan “Je Suis Charlie,”…
How the U.S. Can Help Sri Lanka Turn the Corner—with a targeted war crimes prosecution
The Obama administration helped catalyze the United Nations’ ongoing efforts to bring accountability in Sri Lanka for mass war crimes committed in that country’s civil…
Al-Marri’s End and the Failed Experiment of Domestic Military Detention
In the coming days, Ali al-Marri, former enemy combatant, is scheduled to be released from federal criminal custody, clearing the way for his removal by immigration officials to…
Cybersecurity and a New Era of Asymmetric Economic Warfare
In the last two decades, and in particular after the 9/11 attacks, the United States and its allies have had a near-monopoly on the use of coercive economic measures (sanctions,…
Is it Possible to Ban Autonomous Weapons in Cyberwar?
Political and technological developments have often spurred responses from international humanitarian law (IHL). We already have a good sense of the major questions on the agenda…
White House Cybersecurity Bill: Botnets and “Creative Lawyering”
The White House has released its new legislative proposals on cybersecurity information sharing, federal data breach notification, and amendments to cyber-related law enforcement…
Ongwen Onward to the Hague: Lord’s Resistance Army Commander to Face Justice
Media are reporting that Dominic Ongwen, the Joseph Kony deputy who defected last week from the Lord’s Resistance Army, will be transferred to the International Criminal Court…