The Just Security Podcast

President Donald Trump this week put weapons behind his growing irritation with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intransigence on negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Meeting at the White House with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, President Trump announced that the United States will work with European allies in NATO to send advanced weapon systems, including Patriot missile batteries, to...

In a picturesque valley in the mountains of eastern Bosnia, thousands of white gravestones bear witness to a mass atrocity that still struggles for a place in Europe’s conscience. Nearly 8,400 names are etched into a stone memorial, a stark reminder of the Srebrenica Genocide committed by Bosnian Serb forces against Bosnian Muslims in July 1995 – 30 years ago this year. And yet, too many political...

Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered its highly anticipated judgement in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia–a watershed moment in international human rights law.  In this episode, Just Security Executive Editor and professor at American University Washington College of Law Rebecca Hamilton , and Just Security editorial board member and professor of Internationa...

Iran’s nuclear program has long been a source of international tension. Early in U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, hopes for a diplomatic resolution resurfaced—until June, when Israel launched strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites. Days later, the United States joined the conflict, bombing three sites within Iran. Iran retaliated with missile attacks in Israel and a U.S. base in Q...

The leaders of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, just finished their annual Summit in The Hague in The Netherlands, as Ukraine continues its existential fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion that began more than three years ago. That invasion, preceded six years earlier by the capture of Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine, set off the biggest war in Europe since World War II.  How do...

Over the past several days, the Trump administration has taken increasingly drastic steps in response to protest activity and unrest in Los Angeles — including federalizing 4,000 National Guard troops and sending hundreds of Marines, against the objections of California’s state and local leadership.  As events unfold on the ground in LA, and in the lead-up to further anticipated protests this week...

In recent years, the United States has sustained some of the most severe cyber threats in recent history– from the Russian-government directed hack SolarWinds to China’s prepositioning in U.S. critical infrastructure for future sabotage attacks through groups like Volt Typhoon . The Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is responsible for responding to, and protecting against these a...

For nearly 70 years, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division led efforts to protect voting rights and fight racial discrimination at the polls. But in January 2025, DOJ political appointees froze all new civil rights cases and dismissed every major pending voting rights lawsuit—prompting most career attorneys to leave the Division.  With federal challenges to restrictive voting laws now dropped in several...

The State Department has released a reorganization plan that would usher in significant changes to the way the United States conducts its diplomacy and foreign assistance, at a time of considerable geopolitical change. Proposals by the Trump administration include eliminating or restructuring a number of the Department’s longstanding functions, dissolving and/or folding USAID into State, and impos...

As the Supreme Court holds oral arguments on Thursday, May 15, Kristin A. Collins , Gerald Neuman and Rachel E. Rosenbloom argue that Executive Order 14160, which denies birthright citizenship to any child born in the United States who does not have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, clearly violates the birthright citizenship federal statute.  They note the st...

Now in its third year, the Russo-Ukraine War has upended the post-Cold War security landscape, exposing deep fractures in the global balance of power.  As western unity frays and U.S. diplomacy shifts under President Trump, the war has become a flashpoint for competing visions of the international order.  This week, the European Union gave Russia an ultimatum: accept a proposed ceasefire or face e...

On Friday, May 9, senior White House official Stephen Miller said: "The Constitution is clear, and that, of course, is the supreme law of the land, that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended at a time of invasion. So I would say that’s an action we’re actively looking at." CNN later reported that President Donald Trump has been personally involved in discussions in...

An audio of Ilya Somin's Just Security article, which has become more topical by the day. The title: "What Just Happened: The Invasion Executive Order and Its Dangerous Implications." Somin is a Professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, the B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, and author of Free to Move: Foot Voting, Mi...

May 3rd marks World Press Freedom Day. This year especially, press freedom is under threat in the United States from a range of directions: from hostile official rhetoric and actions to self-censorship and systemic appeasement, to just basic information overload. As the Trump administration continues to “flood the zone,” how can we assess individual developments to discern broader trends that migh...

In early April 2025, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released two major policies on Federal Agency Use of AI and Federal Procurement of AI - OMB memos M-25-21 and M-25-22 , respectively. These memos were revised at the direction of President Trump’s January 2025 executive order, “ Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligenc e” and replaced the Biden-era...

The North African country of Sudan marks two years of war this week. The fighting between rival military factions – the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – has killed an estimated 150,000 people and forced more than 15 million people from their homes. Almost 25 million people face acute hunger, according to United Nations agencies. It’s the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. ...

2025 will be a pivotal year for technology regulation in the United States and around the world. The European Union has begun regulating social media platforms with its Digital Services Act. In the United States, regulatory proposals at the federal level will likely include renewed efforts to repeal or reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Meanwhile, States such as Florida and Texa...

Presidents have long pursued policy prerogatives through the Department of Justice, but traditionally, there’s been a clear division between those and the Justice Department’s enforcement decisions.  On March 5, 2025, the NYU Law Forum and the Reiss Center on Law and Security at NYU School of Law co-hosted an all-star panel of experts who have served in senior positions at the White House and in t...

Alongside the new Trump administration, a new Congress has also taken power in Washington, D.C. The 119th Congress brings unified Republican control of both chambers with key votes – such as confirming many of President Trump’s cabinet nominees – complete, another focus will be on congressional investigations and oversight.  What might the oversight landscape look like? What investigative prioriti...

In just his first six weeks in office, President Donald Trump has issued more than 80 executive orders and other actions, many of them targeting the federal workforce and the structure of the federal government.  Just Security’s Co-Editor-in-Chief, Ryan Goodman, recently published a timeline of actions that highlight the alarming level of politicization and weaponization of the Department of Justi...

In his second term in office, President Donald Trump has already taken sweeping measures on immigration, the environment, the U.S. military, and the structure of the federal government. With so many executive orders, policy changes, and novel actions, it’s easy to wonder, “What just happened?” In this podcast mini-series we help to answer exactly that question.  On each episode of “What Just Happe...

In his second term in office, President Donald Trump has already taken sweeping measures on immigration, the environment, the U.S. military, and the structure of the federal government. With so many executive orders, policy changes, and novel actions, it’s easy to wonder, “What just happened?” In this podcast mini-series we help to answer exactly that question.  On each episode of “What Just Happe...

The Artificial Intelligence Action Summit recently concluded in Paris, France, drawing world leaders including U.S. Vice President JD Vance. The Summit led to a declaration on “inclusive and sustainable” artificial intelligence, which the United States and United Kingdom have refused to join, though 60 other nations, including China and India support the declaration.  What are the key takeaways fr...

Around the world, lawyers – particularly those representing human rights defenders, political prisoners, and upholding the rule of law – face threats of disbarment, harassment, and prosecution simply for doing their jobs.  Jan. 24 marked International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, which focused on Belarus this year. The Belarusian government has developed a toolkit of repression to silence members...

In the first quarter of the 21st century, U.S. presidential power has reached new heights in both domestic policy and foreign affairs. While the framers created a system of government defined by the separation of powers, the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump reveal a vision, and a version, of unilateral executive power.  What are some reforms that could rest...