National Security Law Commons^™

From The Acting Editor In Chief, Conrad C. Crane

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Spring 2023 issue of Parameters. This issue consists of an In Focus special commentary and the SRAD Director’s Corner focused on Afghanistan, three forums, and two Reviews and Replies.

One Treaty To Apply Them All? Defining Maritime Terrorism By Cross-References And Reservations: The Asean Region Example, Arron N. Honniball

International Law Studies

Defining terms will shape a State’s treaty obligations, the domestic legislation necessary, the availability of cooperative mechanisms, and norm diffusion. Maritime terrorism is an umbrella term referring to the piecemeal approach of treaties creating offenses for identified acts at sea. Further treaties cross-reference the offenses in a selection of global instruments to create related offenses. This includes financing of terrorism (Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (ICSFT)) and regional maritime terrorism (ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism (ACCT)). All cross-referenced instruments shall apply to define ICFST or ACCT offenses unless a State excludes, by reservation, a cross-referenced instrument …

Surveillance, State Secrets, And The Future Of Constitutional Rights, Laura K. Donohue

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Federal Bureau of Investigation v. Fazaga heralds a worrying trend. Over the past 15 years, as more information about how the government wields its foreign intelligence collection authorities on U.S. soil has become available, it has become clear that the government has repeatedly acted outside its constitutional and statutory limits, and at times, in flagrant disregard for judicial orders. As a result, dozens of cases challenging surveillance have been making their way through the courts. Unlike in prior eras, in certain cases it has become easier for litigants to establish an injury-in-fact in light …

Measuring Corruption As A Threat To International Security: An Emerging Indicator For Enhancement Of Global Corruption Governance, Sungyong Kang

Michigan Journal of International Law

The conceptual changes to international security after the end of the Cold War, and particularly those following the al-Qaeda attacks of 2001, clarified the symbiotic relationship between corruption and international security: Corruption destroys the social political environment required to create human security and to ensure safety from terrorist attacks, and national borders increasingly fail to restrain its negative consequences.

To achieve human security though policy intervention in domestic affairs, global corruption governance relies on numerical indicators that measure corruption. By evaluating states through public comparison, indicators pressure states to improve their domestic institutions and structures to align them with the …

From Well-Side Meetings To Pelican Strategy: A Context-Based Approach To Combat Corruption, Lili Yan

Pace International Law Review

This article takes up the question of what strategy is to be used among different communities to eradicate corruption across borders. The debate between two legal scholars, Steven Salbu and Philip Nichols, over the viability of extraterritorial application of anti-bribery laws remains thought-provoking when we look at the effectiveness of the OECD Anti-bribery Convention or FCPA in curbing corruption. Empirical research shows that firms from countries with extraterritorial legal restrictions do not necessarily refrain themselves from paying bribes in foreign transactions. This article ties the Salbu-Nichols’ debate, ISCT, mediating institutions theory, and Pelican Gambits strategy together to structure a context …

The Tallinn Manual 2.0 On Nation-State Cyber Operations Affecting Critical Infrastructure, Terence Check

American University National Security Law Brief

Protecting critical infrastructure from cyber threats is difficult and complex. News headlines abound with reports that show how critical infrastructure—ranging from voting machines to steel mills—have become increasingly vulnerable to cyber operations from state and sophisticated nonstate actors. As critical infrastructure becomes increasingly entangled with the Internet and as new tactics, techniques, and procedures rapidly proliferate and evolve, governments and businesses alike must contend with a mutating threat environment that may put sensitive and highly important critical infrastructure assets in serious jeopardy. The vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure, which provide vital services and functions to societies, may pose a particularly tempting …

Revisiting Goldwater-Nichols: Why Making The Joint Staff A General Staff Will Improve Civilian Control Of The Military And Refine The Constitutional Balance Of War Powers, Michael D. Minerva

American University National Security Law Brief

As the United States has progressively become more involved globally since World War II, the U.S. military is being stretched beyond the professional military competency straining civilian control of the military. To remedy this, it is again time to revisit our national security structure, and adopt a General Staff in place of the Joint Staff. Following World War II and the destruction of the German General Staff by the Nazi Party, the General Staff as an institution has been emotionally rejected in the United States without a careful historical and legal examination of how that institution operates under varying forms …

Regulating The Use Of Military Human Enhancements That Can Cause Side Effects Under The Law Of Armed Conflict: Towards A Method-Based Approach, Yang Liu

American University National Security Law Brief

The development of human enhancement (HE) technology has rendered its military potential increasingly noticed by major military powers. It can be expected that “enhanced warfighters” or “super soldiers” will be used on the battleground in the foreseeable future, which can give rise to many legal issues.

Combating Ransomware: One Year On, V. Gerard Comizio, Gary Corn, William Deckelman, Karl Hopkins, Mark Hughes, Patrick Mccarty, Sujit Raman, Kurt Sanger, Ari Schwartz, Melanie Teplinsky, Jackson Colling

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Legal Framework For Potential U.S. Conflict With China Over Taiwan, Shawn W. Brennan

International Law Studies

The People’s Republic of China has clearly stated the importance of resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete “reunification” to end their century of humiliation. As China grows as the most significant strategic competitor to the United States and develops the military capability to force the issue, understanding what legal authorities the President may exercise in ordering a response is increasingly urgent. This article reviews the legal authorities for the use of force by the United States and examines the contours of the President’s authorities and where they intersect with Congress’s authorities. Through various hypothetical scenarios involving attempts by …

From The Acting Editor In Chief, Conrad C. Crane

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Parameters Winter Issue 2022-23, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Why Do Senior Officers Sometimes Fail In Character? The Leaky Character Reservoir, Everett S.P. Spain, Katie E. Matthew, Andrew L. Hagemaster

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues senior officers may fail in character because their rate of character development throughout their careers typically decreases as environmental stressors rise. It conceptualizes character as an open system with both gains and leaks over time and integrates existing scholarship on personality and ethical development to create the Leaky Character Reservoir framework, which it then applies to Army officers’ careers. Military leaders will gain a new understanding of character and find specific actions officers, units, and the US Army can undertake to strengthen the character of its senior officers.

Sunshine Laws Behind The Clouds: Limited Transparency In A Time Of National Emergency, Ira P. Robbins

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the way citizens lived their lives, businesses operated, and governments functioned. With most people forced to stay home, the pandemic also disrupted how people received their news and other essential information. Public records and public meetings had to adapt to face the growing challenges in a locked-down world. While some governmental bodies were able to keep up with the threat that COVID-19 posed against transparency, others either failed to acclimate to the new normal or actively took advantage of the circumstances to limit how much the public knew not only about the crisis, but about …

Border Orientation In A Globalizing World, Beth A. Simmons, Michael R. Kenwick

Faculty Scholarship at Penn Carey Law

Border politics are a salient component of high international politics. States are increasingly building infrastructure to ‘secure’ their borders. We introduce the concept of border orientation to describe the extent to which the State is committed to the spatial display of capacities to control the terms of penetration of its national borders. Border orientation provides a lens through which to analyze resistance to globalization, growing populism, and the consequences of intensified border politics. We measure border orientation using novel, geo-spatial data on the built environment along the world’s borders and theorize that real and perceived pressures of globalization have resulted …

Why The President Should Remain Commander In Chief Of The D.C. National Guard, Christopher F. Melling

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Anonymous Hacktivism: Flying The Flag Of Feminist Ethics For The Ukraine It Army, Ellen Cornelius

Homeland Security Publications

No abstract provided.

Newsletter, Fall 2022

Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Balancing Liberty And Security: A Proposal For Amplified Procedural Due Process Protections In The U.S. Sanctions Regime, Allison Lofgren

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Note will concentrate on procedural due process concerns stemming from the imposition of terrorist financing sanctions, and it will primarily discuss designated U.S. persons. This is a narrow focus, but it can be viewed as a microcosm for due process issues present throughout the broader IEEPA [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] regime. Ultimately, this Note will conclude that OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control]'s terrorist financing designation process inadequately protects the procedural due process rights of targets, and it will advocate for the implementation of additional procedural protections that balance undeniable constitutional requirements with the critical concern of national …

Intelligence Collection And The International Law Of The Sea, James Kraska

International Law Studies

This article explores the legal implications of intelligence collection operations at sea. It concludes that in terms of the international law of the sea, intelligence collection that occurs outside of the territorial sea is lawful. Furthermore, even intelligence collection by a foreign ship inside the territorial sea, while a violation of State sovereignty, may not violate the law of the sea, per se. Additionally, within the territorial sea, coastal States are limited in the measures they may take against foreign-flagged submarines and surface warships collecting intelligence since those activities do not constitute an armed attack or even the use of …