Main Edition
Protecting the U.S. National Security State from a Rogue President
Laura A. Dickinson* [This essay is available in PDF at this link] Abstract The presidency of Donald Trump revealed weaknesses in the U.S. constitutional structure and its legal rules, weaknesses that had been covered over for most of our history because presidents of all political parties voluntarily obeyed norms of behavior that kept the presidency within the bounds of constitutional democratic governance. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that such norms have been permanently restored. Thus, scholars, policymakers, and judges...
The Legality of Defending National Activities on the Moon
Francesca Giannoni-Crystal* [This essay is available in PDF at this link] Abstract This paper explores the issue of defending national activities on the Moon—the first celestial body that will be subject to human activities. Concentrated resources, insufficient project coordination, and uncertainties in the international framework make the lunar surface a ripe arena for stakeholder conflicts. While commercial space companies may try to defend their activities with private security forces, governments will likely be called upon to...
Volume 15, Issue 2
Volume 15, Issue 2 is out!
Book Review: Hidden in Plain Sight: Redefining the Field of National Security (reviewing Race and National Security (Matiangai Sirleaf ed., Oxford Univ. Press 2023))
Aziza Ahmed [*] [This essay is available in PDF at this link] Throughout his campaign for presidency, Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. As President, he kept his word. Only days after he took office, the new administration released the first version of the Executive Order: Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.1 The first Executive Order, however, did not say the word Muslim. Instead, it listed only Muslim-majority countries as necessary for restrictions on entry. The...
The Significance of a Judicial Power to Identify Major Questions and Shield State Secrets for the Future of Foreign Affairs and National Security Governance
Karen C. Sokol [*] [This essay is available in PDF at this link] Foreign relations and national security law scholars devote significant attention to the expansion of executive power resulting from broad delegations of statutory authority or inaction by Congress and from the considerable deference that courts often afford the executive in cases challenging its actions in the spheres of foreign affairs and national security. Recent decisions of the Roberts Court, however, make clear that scholars should pay just as much—and in some...
Large Constellations of Small Satellites: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Illegal
David A. Koplow [*] [This essay is available in PDF at this link] The most exciting and far-reaching contemporary developments regarding human activities in outer space arise from the recent drastic reductions in the costs of building, launching, and operating satellites, and from the concomitant sudden emergence of large constellations of small, inexpensive, privately-owned spacecraft. These satellites—devoted to highly remunerative functions such as communications (bringing high-speed, affordable internet to underserved...