Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.
2,265 Articles

“ISIS Widows” and “Boko Haram Wives”: Overlooked Abuses in Iraq and Nigeria
Thousands of displaced women in Iraq and Nigeria have been arbitrarily branded as affiliated with IS or Boko Haram, and subjected to abuse as a result. Almost 400 in-depth interviews…

Trump Administration’s Terrorism Claims Omit Crucial Available Data
More information is needed to better understand how the federal government prosecutes terrorism. That’s why the Brennan Center – along with UNC Professor Charles Kurzman –…

DHS Spins the Border Numbers… Again
The July border numbers were released on Wednesday and, once again, DHS saw it as an opportunity to dissemble to the American people in the service of the Trump administration’s…

Brett Kavanaugh and the Risk of a Return to Torture
Brett Kavanaugh, holds a stark view of the role of international law, which could threaten the protection of fundamental human rights, including the right not to be tortured.

Grace v. Sessions– Suing to Stop Shutting Down Asylum Claims at the Border
In the D.C. federal district court today, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, together with the American Civil Liberties Union, filed suit to stop the U.S. government from…

Al-Qaeda and ISIS are on Their Heels in Yemen, But Will Return Unless We Help Build a Lasting Peace
Al-Qaeda and ISIS are vulnerable in Yemen in a way they’ve never been before, but the war there has been too brutal and too sectarian for a tidy aftermath. Too many have been…

How Transitional Justice Can Help the U.S. Defeat Terrorism
It may seem odd that the National Security Strategy discusses accountability for mass atrocities on the same page as defeating transnational terror. What could justice have to…

The Latest ISIS Casualty? UK’s Principled Opposition to the Death Penalty
Like a dripping corrosive liquid, ISIS and the response it provokes from governments are slowly eating away at key human rights principles. Driven by a desire to appear tough on…

The Use of Child Spies by the UK
Is the UK's use of child spies consistent with its legal obligations, including under international law?

The Challenge of Foreign Assistance for Anti-ISIS Detention Operations
New York Times reporter Charlie Savage last week gave readers a fascinating look inside the makeshift detention facilities where the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)…

Tech Pressure on Privacy: National Security Requires a Fuller View of Corporate Social Responsibility
The corporate world and the U.S. national security apparatus increasingly find themselves in conflict over technology and expertise, with implications for the effectiveness of…

“We Could Hold Them for 100 Years If the Conflict Lasts for 100 Years”
Last week, Justice Department lawyer Ronald Wiltsie told a federal district court in Washington, D.C. that the Trump administration is entitled to imprison detainees for 100 years…