Recent Articles

A collage of images from a few articles of the past year.

20 Most Read Just Security Articles in 2020

What captured readers’ attention over the past year.
Seated under a portrait of the Saudi monarch, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al Salam Palace in the Red Sea port of Jeddah on June 24, 2019.

Why the State Dept Should Reject Saudi Crown Prince MBS’s Claimed “Immunity”

The State Department refused to recognize head-of-state immunity for another Crown Prince, the UAE’s Mohamed bin Zayed in 2010. The same adherence to international law should…
Ivanka Trump watches Donald Trump speak during a news briefing on coronavirus on March 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. Neither wear face masks.

Purpose, Not Specificity, Limits the Pardon Power: A Rejoinder to Rappaport

'Tis the season for pardons. But must a pardon spell out the crimes to which it applies? The latest in an ongoing conversation between Prof's Bowman and Rappaport on the legality…
Male Northern Cardinal Bird in branches at Central Park

The 2020 Just Security Holiday Reading List

Our end-of-year reading recommendations from Just Security editors.
Presidential guards with large weapons stand guard near a campaign poster leaning against a wall with children sitting on top. The poster shows incumbent president during his opening campaign rally for the presidential election in Bangui, on December 12 2020.

Alarms Raised in Central African Republic: Pre-Election Fighting Threatens Civilians and Fragile Peace

Ahead of elections this weekend, risks of a dramatic escalation of violence and political crisis in Central African Republic. What you need to know.
Trump

Can a Pardon Be a War Crime?: When Pardons Themselves Violate the Laws of War

Editor’s note: Originally published on May 25, 2019; with an author’s note published on Dec. 24, 2020. Author’s note, Dec. 24, 2020: Not all corrupt pardons…
U.S. Army SSG. Tyler Laliberte embraces his family after returning from a 9-month deployment to Afghanistan on December 10, 2020 at Fort Drum, New York.

Military Families are Gunning for Peace this Holiday Season

I share my family’s story to underline the urgency behind avoiding war with Iran. We’ve become a nation that engages in wars of choice. We cannot continue down this current…
A 3D illustration of binary numbers in blue waves. The numbers look like electronic lights.

SolarWinds as a Constitutive Moment: A New Agenda for the International Law of Intelligence

The SolarWinds hack could trigger fundamental changes in legal thought and state practice. Asaf Lubin sets out what that agenda can and should look like.

Invoking Martial Law to Reverse the 2020 Election Could be Criminal Sedition

In his increasingly desperate bid to hang on to the White House, President Trump is reportedly contemplating invoking martial law to force the invalidation of the results of the…
A soldier stands alone in an empty concrete lot at Camp Pendleton.

Let’s Not “Fight Like Hell” Without a Strategy: At the VA, Put First Principles First

As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reels from scandal, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of veterans affairs, Denis McDonough, promises to “fight like…
Mike Pence, Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump, and others sit in the front row at the first US Presidential Debate at Hofstra University September 26, 2016 in Hempstead, New York.

Pardongate 2.0: Prosecutors and Congress Investigated Clinton’s Pardons. The Same Should Happen to Trump.

There's ample precedent (the investigations of Bill Clinton's pardons) and ample reason for Congress and the Department of Justice to launch investigations into President Trump's…
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the meeting at the Great Hall of People in Beijing, China on April 25, 2019. Country flags are lined behind them.

Serbia’s Delicate Dance with the EU and China

While European Union membership would be beneficial to Serbia as a whole, it may not serve the interests of the country’s ruling elites.
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