Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.
2,268 Articles

World Court Rules on Iran Challenge to US Suits for Acts of Terrorism: An Explainer
Key takeaways from the International Court of Justice's judgment in the case of "Certain Iranian Assets": some of Iran's claims against the U.S. over billions of dollars in terrorism-related…

National Security at the United Nations This Week
At the UN this week: ISIL remains a global threat, the US and Russia draft rival Security Council resolutions on Venezuela, the UN welcomes a new peace accord in the Central African…

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Does the McConnell amendment provide a justification for military operations against Iran?
The Senate’s rebuke of President Trump announcing a precipitous withdrawal from Syria creates dangerous ambiguity as to whether confronting Iran should be considered part of…

Avoiding the Next Yemen: Applying Hard Lessons for Security Partnerships
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen, wrought by a conflict entering its fourth year, has called into question the nature and purpose of American security partnership with Saudi Arabia.…

Bringing ISIS to Justice: Running Out of Time?
The international community and key actors in Syria and Iraq need to develop a coherent plan to bring ISIS members to account for war crimes, not just counterterrorism crimes,…

Syria Found Liable for the Death of War Correspondent Marie Colvin
Judge Amy Berman Jackson, of the D.C. District Court, has unsealed a $302 million judgment against the Syrian Arab Republic, finding it liable for the assassination of intrepid…

“We are all Darfur!” – Sudan’s Unity Protests Stand a Real Chance. Time for the West to Step Up
A series of student-led protests in Sudan that started in the provinces has grown into a bona fide movement. Hesitation by the U.S. and its allies to support a nonviolent, gradual,…

National Security at the United Nations This Week
Editors’ Note: Just Security is now producing a new weekly series that keeps readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…

The Status of Guantanamo 17 Years In
Seventeen years ago today, the United States brought twenty Afghan men, alleged to be members of the Taliban or al-Qaeda, to its Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Images of the…

What the Dublin Tram System Hack Reveals about the Future of Hostage Taking
Imagine hackers commandeered a capital city’s transit system, holding it hostage for a cryptocurrency ransom. Consider the implications of this attack: beyond a data breach,…

A Congo War Crimes Decision: What It Means for Universal Jurisdiction Litigation in Germany and Beyond
The German Federal Court of Justice, the country's court of last resort in criminal and private law, recently announced its much-anticipated decision in a Congo War Crimes case.…

Annotation of the Pentagon Report to Congress on Detainee Abuse by U.S. Partners in Yemen
In a mere two pages of carefully parsed prose, DoD has provided what can only be described as a deliberately misleading and deceptively evasive account of U.S. and Emirati actions…