Recent Articles

20 Most Read Just Security Articles in 2020
What captured readers’ attention over the past year.

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…

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…

The 2020 Just Security Holiday Reading List
Our end-of-year reading recommendations from Just Security editors.

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.

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.