Department of Defense (DoD)
285 Articles

Good Governance Paper No. 21: Obedience to Orders, Lawful Orders, and the Military’s Constitutional Compact
Latest in a series of top experts exploring proposals to restore and promote nonpartisan principles of good government, public integrity, and the rule of law.

Loyalty Above All: The “Shallow State” of the Trump Administration
A compilation of executive branch positions deprived of competence and expertise, and filled instead with political loyalists.

Good Governance Paper No. 20: Repairing and Strengthening Norms of Nuclear Restraint
Latest in a series of top experts exploring proposals to restore and promote nonpartisan principles of good government, public integrity, and the rule of law.

Preventing a Military Decision About Who Won a Disputed Election
"The Pentagon’s senior officials should emphasize that the military must never receive a self-interested order about who has won an election."

Good Governance Paper No. 6 (Part Two): Domestic Military Operations — The Role of the National Guard, Posse Comitatus Act and More
Sixth in series of top experts exploring proposals to restore and promote nonpartisan principles of good government, public integrity, and rule of law.

Good Governance Paper No. 6 (Part One): Domestic Military Operations — Reforming the Insurrection Act
Sixth in series of top experts exploring proposals to restore and promote nonpartisan principles of good government, public integrity, and the rule of law.

The 116th Congress’s Record on International Human Rights: The Good, the Bad, and the Unfinished Business
Action and inaction on Uyghurs, Yemen, the Rohingya, asylum seekers, Venezuela, and more highlight the crises facing the next Congress.

Shaky Hands in the Oval Office
Like another president's illness, Trump's bout with COVID-19 exposes the risks of a personalized foreign policy that dismisses national security structures.

Military Medical Ethics and Dr. Conley’s Misrepresentations of the President’s Health
"To witness military physicians bending or burying the truth does long-lasting damage to the confidence required for the system to work."

DOD Inspector General’s Report Whitewashes Potential Violations of the Posse Comitatus Act
In finding no violation of Posse Comitatus Act, the IG misinterprets federal law and exaggerates the power of DOD policy — creating a dangerous precedent for the domestic use…

Finding the Right U.S. Defense Leaders
Military experience should not be a litmus test for a senior civilian position in the Defense Department, but it should not be a disqualifier either.

A Military Litmus Test? Evaluating the Argument that Civilian Defense Leaders Need Military Experience
There are several reasons to reject blanket assertions that military service acts as a general qualifier for running or contributing to national security affairs in non-military…