Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.
2,228 Articles

Draft “Murad Code” Aims to Improve Investigations of Sexual Violence in Conflict
The guidelines respond to troubling past practices that made investigations ineffective, re-traumatizing, unnecessarily duplicative, and a security risk.

After 30 Years of Impunity, the Jesuits Massacre Trial Commences in Spain
Monday, after a decade of pre-trial litigation, a trial that is seeking justice for the 1989 massacre in El Salvador of six Jesuit priests (Ignacio Ellacuría, Ignacio Martín-Baró,…

Trump and Duterte Show Why UN Must Reassess Embrace of Counterterrorism
If the Secretary-General and his team were to support realistic, practical steps, the UN could chart a much more responsible way forward.

The Untold Power of Bill Barr to Direct US Military Forces in Case of “Civil Unrest”
Whether deployed against protests for racial justice or deployed to interfere with free and fair elections in November, the US military operations would be led by Bill Barr, not…

The United States’ Racial Justice Problem Is Also an International Human Rights Law Problem
An essay by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Professor E. Tendayi Achiume.

The Growing Irrelevance of State’s List of Countries Not Cooperating on Counterterrorism
Any certification that labels countries as not cooperating fully on counterterrorism and includes only the five countries listed by the State Department last month is less about…

Invoking “Terrorism” Against Police Protestors
"The invocation of 'terrorism' to respond to Antifa—and those protesting police violence more generally—has real consequences even if it does not create new legal powers."

The President and the Domestic Deployment of the Military: Answers to Five Key Questions
Can President Trump use the military without governors' consent? What are the rules for the use of force?

On Iranian Gunboats: Beware Conflating American and Mainstream Views of the Law
In a recent essay in Just Security entitled “Iranian Gunboat Harassment and the Rules of Engagement,” Michael Schmitt and Durward Johnson explore important questions raised…

White Supremacist Infiltration of US Police Forces: Fact-Checking National Security Advisor O’Brien
What the available research says about systemic discrimination in law enforcement as well as links to racist and white supremacist ideology.

Far-Right Infiltrators and Agitators in George Floyd Protests: Indicators of White Supremacists
Evidence points to specific White Supremacist and far-right groups having infiltrated George Floyd protests, writes scholar of violent extremism, Georgia State University professor…

A Conversation With U.N. Special Rapporteur E. Tendayi Achiume: COVID-19, Racism, and Xenophobia
Editor’s Note: This piece is part of Just Security‘s United Nations Special Rapporteurs on #COVID-19 series, in which mandate holders offer their views on pressing…