Racial Justice
180 Articles
National Security at the United Nations This Week (June 5-12)
(Editor’s Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…
The Supreme Court’s Insidious Development of Qualified Immunity
The American policing and criminal justice system is a complex machine, soldered together from a variety of tools and tactics of oppression. By purpose, design, and effect, the…
At Confederate-Named Army Bases, Highlight US Ideals By Renaming Them for Honorable Figures
The facilities should be named after accomplished figures who represent the diversity that makes the country and the Army strong. And there are plenty.
Researchers on Atrocity Prevention Warn: US on Path to Widespread Political Violence
The United States remains on the precipice of widespread human rights violations against its own civilian population. As scholars of armed conflict and human rights with a combined…
International Standards Regarding the Handling of Demonstrations
Just as much as nauseating scenes of excessive use of force by the police captured by media and citizens’ smartphones fly in the face of the protections that should be afforded…
![A collage of tweets and statements. The first statement by Mike Mullen, Seventeenth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reads on June 2, 2020, “I cannot remain silent. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy.” A tweet from Admiral Mike Franken, no date, reads, “I’m a retired three-star admiral running for United States Senate in Iowa. The military is a tool of last resort to defend our nation. It is not a weapon to use against our citizens or our states.” A tweet from Tony Thomas on June 1, 2020 reads, “The ‘battle space’ of America??? Not what America needs to hear…ever, unless we are invaded by an adversary or experience a constitutional failure…ie a Civil War…” A tweet from retired General Martin E. Dempsey, no date, reads, “America’s military, our sons and daughters, will place themselves at risk to protect their fellow citizens. Their job is unimaginably hard overseas; harder at home. Respect them, for they respect you. America is not a battleground. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy. #BeBetter” A tweet from General Michael Hayden, no date, reads, “I was appalled to see him in his battle dress. Mi [cut off] a general?!?) should not have walked over to th [cut off] with Trump.” A tweet from Mark Hertling reads, “’Dominating the battle space,’ democratic values.” A tweet from Berry R McCaffrey on June 1, 2020 reads, “On MSNBC. Monday. 1 June. 11 pm ET. Brian Williams. Trump and the Insurrection Act. The murder of George Floyd by a police officer was the spark that detonated the anger at injustice. Using military forces other than Nat Guard would be inflammatory.” A tweet by @stavridisj, no date, reads, “American tradition says the use of active duty [cut off] to quell domestic disputes should be absol [cut off] resort and done at the request of not over the [cut off] objection of governors. I agree with that – th [cut off] role for the National Guard not active duty.” The last statement comes from an article by Jeffrey Goldberg and reads, “James Mattis denounces President Trump, describes him as threat to the Constitution. In an extraordinary condemnation, the former defense secretary [cut off] protestors and says the president is trying to turn Americans against [cut off] another.”](https://i0.wp.com/www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Mattis-collage.jpg?fit=1024%2C483&ssl=1)
The Generals’ Constitution
When retired senior military officers “break ranks” to publicly criticize current political affairs, they often invoke a defense of the Constitution. In light of their oaths…
The Untold Power of Bill Barr to Direct US Military Forces in Case of “Civil Unrest”
Whether deployed against protests for racial justice or deployed to interfere with free and fair elections in November, the US military operations would be led by Bill Barr, not…
New Complicity Charges Filed in the Killing of George Floyd
UPDATED As millions of people take to the streets demanding racial justice, accountability for police violence, and the demilitarization of the police, the case against the ex-police…
Standing, Not-Standing with the Protesters: U.S. Policy on Hong Kong and BLM
... the PRC’s own hypocrisy is no reason to abandon Hong Kong. But if the U.S. government seeks to play a constructive role, it needs to check off certain items. First and foremost,…
The United States’ Racial Justice Problem Is Also an International Human Rights Law Problem
An essay by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Professor E. Tendayi Achiume.
National Security at the United Nations This Week (May 29-June 5)
(Editor’s Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…
If We Could See Ourselves from the Outside
Can a change of perspective dislodge the assumed inevitability of an enduring democracy?