Terrorism & Violent Extremism

Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.

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A banner calling for the release of Austin Tice, an American journalist held captive in Syria, is displayed at the Newseum in Washington, DC on November 2, 2016. The sign reads, “Held captive for being a journalist since August 2012.” And “#FreeAustinTice”

Taking Stock at 40: The UN Convention Against the Taking of Hostages

A product of its time, the Convention emphasized preventing future terrorist attacks by punishing perpetrators. But now, several decades later, it’s clear that stopping hostage…
Sudanese protesters stage a demonstration on December 3, 2019 calling upon authorities to deliver justice to those killed in demonstrations against the now ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir and during the weeks long sit in outside the military headquarters after Bashir's fall.

“Freedom, Peace, and Justice”: The Surprising Success of Sudan’s Glorious Revolution

What a difference a year makes. Today marks the one-year anniversary of the first protests that would eventually topple the brutal dictatorship of Sudanese President Omar al Bashir.…
Women and children ride in the back of a truck at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp for the displaced where families of Islamic State (IS) foreign fighters are held, in the al-Hasakeh governorate in northeastern Syria on December 9, 2019.

Rehabilitating the Islamic State’s Women and Children Returnees in Kazakhstan

Many countries are looking at what kind of model Kazakhstan builds with its efforts to reintegrate ISIS returnees, and whether it will be effective. The countries that get this…
A cluster of corrugated iron huts resembling military barracks jut out of Nauru's sweltering rocky landscape to reveal refugee Camp Four on the Pacific island of Nauru.

Boochani’s Tribunal: Normalizing Human Degradation at Borders

A complaint to the ICC on Australia's detention practices highlights a very clear risk that this precedent represents an emerging global normalcy of human degradation when it comes…
A guard tower is seen outside the fencing of Camp 5 at the US Military's Prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on January 26, 2017.

D.C. Circuit Considers Limits on Guantanamo Detention

The court will hear oral arguments today in Abdul Razak Ali v. Trump on the central question of whether the Due Process Clause applies to limit the length of detention at Guantanamo…
Families sit and lie in overcrowded cells without privacy. Many individuals huddle in thin metallic emergency blankets as bedding. Barbed wire fencing serves as walls.

Holding DHS Accountable for a Child’s Death in the Custody of Border Patrol

A thorough federal criminal investigation under the civil rights laws is warranted in the case of 16-year-old Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez.
Social Media Apps on a Phone: Twitter, Messenger, telegram, Google+, Gmail, Instagram, and Snapchat

No Place to Hide, No Place to Post: Lessons from Recent Efforts at “De-Platforming” ISIS

A recent scramble to reduce or eliminate the presence of ISIS in online platforms suggests that depriving the group of its virtual safe haven on any particular platform may be…
A military officer stands near the entrance to Camp VI at the U.S. military prison for 'enemy combatants' on June 25, 2013 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

9/11 Case: Military Commission Convening Authority to Be Called as a Witness as to His Own Bias

W. Shane Cohen, the current judge presiding over the 9/11 case at Guantánamo Bay, has ordered the compulsion of testimony from the Office of Military Commissions’ convening…
World flags in front of the United Nations building

National Security at the United Nations: The Latest

Myanmar taken to ICJ over genocide of Rohingya, IAEA reports further Iranian steps away from JCPOA, UN experts find al-Shabaab a potent threat despite U.S. air strikes, the UN…
A migrant man embraces her daughter after taking to Turkish Coast Guard's unit 901 boat fallowing a rescue operation on the Aegean Sea between Turkish resort town of Bodrum and the Greek island of Kos following a rescue operation by the Turkish Coast Guard on November 15, 2019 in Bodrum, Turkey.

Calling Out the Misuse of Terrorism Rhetoric Against Refugee and Asylum Seekers

Using terrorism tropes to deny legitimate protection to refugee and asylum seekers is not a new phenomenon. But, given the ongoing deployment of such incendiary and poorly grounded…
A crowded prison cell is filled with men suspected of being affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh on October 26, 2019. They sit and lay side by side on thin cots on the floor.

Nearly 20 Years Later: It’s Time to Reset Our Approach to Countering Terrorism

With the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi another terrorist leader has been taken off the battlefield, but while a notable military and intelligence success, the threat posed by the…
A member of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) stands on guard past US military armoured vehicles and soldiers on patrol near an oil well in Rumaylan (Rmeilan) in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on November 6, 2019.

The US Mission Tied to Syrian Oil Fields May Prove the Worst of All Strategic Options

"What seems like a well-intentioned effort to mitigate a mess of Trump’s own making ultimately could make matters worse."
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