International and Foreign
2,955 Articles

Trump Administration Notches a Serious Human Rights Win. No, really.
In meetings I’ve had over the past year with the well-meaning and generally beleaguered Trump administration officials responsible for aspects of the government’s human rights…

Customs and Border Protection’s New Policy for Searching Devices Offers Thin Protection
Ronald D. Vitiello, Acting Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Thomas Homan, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of Immigration and…

The Steele Dossier in 2018: Everyone’s Favorite Weapon
The so-called Steele dossier has become a political and cultural weapon. For many of us, it is either a salacious outline of heinous presidential crimes or a complete fabrication…

Parsing Howard Nielson’s Sources: A Thesis Without Support
Image: Committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) speaks with ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) before the start of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol…

Why We Need to Rethink the Mérida Initiative as a Function of National Security
Having suffered a stunning defeat in its efforts to reform healthcare and then securing a resounding win in its pursuit of across-the-board tax cuts, the Trump administration has…

Counter-Terrorism and Crackdowns on Civil Society
As countries around the globe contend with the threat of terrorism, the challenges to civil liberties and civil society have never been greater. Acknowledging the threat posed…

International Criminal Court Indictments of U.S. Officials Are not Impossible
The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s long-expected request to open an investigation of U.S. armed forces and the CIA for crimes allegedly committed in Afghanistan…

Alseran v MOD and the Legal Risks in Treating All Captives as Prisoners of War
British and American troops with Iraqi captives in March 2003. (UK MOD) Last month, the English High Court delivered its judgment in favour of the claimants in Alseran and Others…

Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (Dec. 2017)
Image: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) speaks about bipartisan legislation to help prevent sexual harassment on Dec. 6, 2017 on Capitol Hill (Alex Wong/Getty) Sign up here to receive…

A Year-End Retrospective
It is disorienting to experience Donald Trump as the central drama in American politics. Yet we’ve been doing so for nearly two years now. The end of the year is a natural time…

What Stories Deserved More Attention in 2017?
Every year important news stories come and go with too few people taking notice, but the chaos (not to mention the scandal and corruption) of the Trump presidency makes the problem…

Episode 51 of the National Security Podcast: Temporary, Immediate, and Unmonitored Access to this Podcast
Well, 2017 is almost done. No doubt there are a few more kicks-in-the-pants on the way before it’s all said and done, but hey, we can at least offer you one final episode of…