Recent Articles

As ISIS Regroups, No Time to Cut U.S., U.N. Assistance to Iraq
Iraq is teetering, and the U.S. presence is uncertain. All the more reason to retain the kinds of U.N. and other civilian programs that prevent backsliding.

Building Walls and Deporting People to “Safe” Countries Is Not Deterrence, It’s Defense
Labeling highly militarized, defense-based policies as forms of migration “deterrence” masks their true nature.

Instagram Content Removals in Iran Highlight Questions Over Facebook’s New Oversight Board
Facebook’s recent release of the bylaws for its new Oversight Board, which will be charged with reviewing takedown decisions by Facebook and Instagram, came on the heels of reports…

The Early Edition: February 12, 2020
Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and…

American Policy Paralysis in the Middle East Strikes Idlib
While observers of the Middle East focus on the spiraling escalation of US-Iran tensions, a humanitarian crisis with potentially far greater consequences is rapidly unfolding in…
![An email from Mark Paoletta on August 12, 2019 reading, “Alternative language. [Redacted] Mike Paoletta General Counsel Office of Management & Budget [Redacted] (office) [Redacted] (cell)”](https://i0.wp.com/www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Screen-Shot-2020-02-10-at-12.03.15-PM.png?fit=1024%2C366&ssl=1)
Exclusive: New Unredacted Emails Show How Deeply OMB Misled Congress on Ukraine
New unredacted emails confirm that OMB, including the general counsel’s office, was fully in the loop about the Pentagon’s Ukraine funding worries, and took active steps to…

Punching on the Edges of the Grey Zone: Iranian Cyber Threats and State Cyber Responses
Retired Colonel Gary Corn, a former senior JAG at U.S. Cyber Command, discusses broader legal international norms to counter Iran and other states’ malicious cyber activities.…

As Russia and China Seek a Beachhead in the Western Balkans, a U.S.-U.K. Push Could Avert an Authoritarian Turn
Genuinely sustainable progress in the Western Balkans turns on jobs, equitably distributed revenue, and the physical security that undergirds effective governance.

The Early Edition: February 11, 2020
Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and…

Congressional Science and Technology Capacity Must Be Revitalized
The time is now for Congress to build out its own expert capacity so that it can oversee — and, if necessary, try to compensate for the loss of — the highly technical expert…

The CIA in the Age of Trump
Under Trump, the CIA workforce has experienced two directors unwilling to spend any of their political capital on encouraging the president to be more supportive of the Intelligence…

The Friday Night Massacre’s Broader Context: Trump’s Redesign for American Democracy
As we discussed with one of the authors of the book, How Democracies Die, the purges fit an ominous path followed by elected autocrats.