Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.
2,268 Articles
My Priorities As UN Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism: The Problem of Permanent Emergencies
French soldiers patrolling a street of Saint Denis, France, during an anti-terrorist raid on November 18, 2015. France has been under a government-declared state of emergency…
Gun Violence Deserves As Robust a Response as Terrorism
When videos from the mass shooting in Las Vegas began circulating on social media last Sunday night, I immediately recognized the rapid sound of automatic gunfire. I knew the sound…
Addendum to My “Memo to the Human Rights Community” (on drone strikes outside of “hot battlefields”)
On Wednesday, I published an essay at Just Security titled, “Why the Laws of War Apply to Drone Strikes Outside “Areas of Active Hostilities” (A Memo to the Human Rights…
Three Quick Observations on the U.S. Citizen ISIL Detainee
1. Like Bobby Chesney, I fully expected that “John Doe”–the U.S. citizen who the military currently is detaining in Iraq–would be “en route to the…
A Response to Goodman’s “Memo to the Human Rights Community”
Ryan Goodman’s “Memo to the Human Rights Community” is a perplexing critique that takes a surprising tone, coming from a former U.S. government official who worked on these…
Why the Laws of War Apply to Drone Strikes Outside “Areas of Active Hostilities” (A Memo to the Human Rights Community)
Reports that the White House is poised to revise a four-year old set of policy restrictions on drone strikes and other lethal operations has generated a heated debate that turns…
Acknowledging the Harm Done to Civilians by the U.S.-Led Coalition in Syria
Ahed is an 11 year-old Syrian girl whose life was upended on the evening of March 20 when an airstrike hit the school near Raqqa where she and her family had sought shelter. Ahed…
The Increasingly Unsettling Indifference Toward the US Citizen “Enemy Combatant”
It’s now been over three weeks since an American citizen who is being held by the United States in military detention as an “enemy combatant” after allegedly…
National Security-Related Congressional Hearings, October 2-7
Tuesday, October 3 9:30am – Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee — Nomination of John M. Mitnick to be General Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security…
How US Surveillance Helps Repressive Regimes—the Ethiopia Case
Recent stories from Edward Snowden’s disclosures show how the US government’s involvement with Ethiopia presents a case study in enabling repressive regimes to carry out…
Easing Restrictions on US Killings Outside War Zones Would be a Serious Mistake
President Donald Trump is poised to rescind some of the key rules crafted by the Obama administration that restrain the use of armed drones and other lethal operations outside…
Jesner: A Guide to the Blogosphere
As part of our symposium of Jesner v. Arab Bank case, we are offering this annotated guide to previous coverage of the case in the blogosphere, including another online symposium…