The ''National Security Law Journal'' is a biannual student-edited

law journal A law review or law journal is a scholarly journal or publication that focuses on legal issues. A law review is a type of legal periodical. Law reviews are a source of research, imbedded with analyzed and referenced legal topics; they also pr ...

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

Antonin Scalia Law School The Antonin Scalia Law School (previously George Mason University School of Law) is the law school of George Mason University, a public research university in Virginia. It is located in Arlington, Virginia, roughly west of Washington, D.C., a ...

. The journal covers the field of

national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...

law, including legal issues related to

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

, intelligence,

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

, and the military. NSLJ serves as a forum for thought-provoking scholarly articles written by leading academics and experienced practitioners on current legal developments. The articles selected for publication each year promote a greater understanding of national security laws and precedent, serve as a catalyst for legal change and development, and provide a source of legal authority and analysis to the legal community. The first issue was released in March 2013. The journal accepts manuscripts throughout the year on it
Scholastica website
Each publication issue features three to five pieces, including two to three “professional pieces” written by professors, judges, attorneys, or other practitioners, along with two or three student Notes or Comments. The journal was cited widely in national and international media in the summer of 2015 for publishing an article that shed light on controversial views held by a professor then teaching at the

U.S. Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. The National Security Law Journal also holds at least one symposium each year that highlights and examines emerging issues in national security law. Previous symposium topics have included

digital currency Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital cu ...

election security Election cybersecurity or election security refers to the protection of elections and voting infrastructure from cyberattack or cyber threat – including the tampering with or infiltration of voting machines and equipment, election office netwo ...

Russia-Ukraine crisis The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revo ...

, sanctions, and drone surveillance.

Events

On April 2, 2013, the journal hosted a symposium on cybersecurity with

Michael V. Hayden Michael Vincent Hayden (born March 17, 1945) is a retired United States Air Force four-star general and former Director of the National Security Agency, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Director of the Central Intelligenc ...

, former director of the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

and

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

; Suzanne E. Spaulding, Deputy Under Secretary for the

National Protection and Programs Directorate The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that is responsible for strengthening cybersecurity and infrastructure protection across all levels of government, ...

at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Ronald D. Lee, partner at

Arnold & Porter Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP is an American multinational law firm. A white-shoe firm, Arnold & Porter is among the largest law firms in the world, by both revenue and by its number of lawyers. History Arnold & Porter was founded in 1946 ...

and former General Counsel, National Security Agency. On November 6, 2013, the journal hosted "Drone Wars", a panel discussion on the legal framework for the use of drones under the law of armed conflict, featuring panelists from

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presiden ...

, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'',

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, and

. The following week, on November 12, 2013, the journal hosted "Blinking Red: Crisis and Compromise in American Intelligence After 9/11", a discussion with author and former Congressional staffer Michael Allen on his new book on intelligence reform. On March 26, 2014, the journal hosted an event with former

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

Michael Mukasey, who spoke on the NSA, wiretapping, and

PRISM Prism usually refers to: * Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light * Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron Prism may also refer to: Science and mathematics * Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...

. During the fall of 2020, the journal's symposium was titled "Running Interference: Protecting the Integrity of American Elections." The two virtual panels featured speakers such as The Honorable Susan M. Gordon, Nikolas Guggenberger, Prof. Josephine Wolff, and Jamil N. Jaffer. The events were held in conjunction with the National Security Institute founded by Jamil Jaffer. In February 2022, the journal hosted its 10th anniversary symposium series with four panels of speakers speaking on topics such as the future of U.S. Export Controls and the Impact on International Trade, as well as the future of OFAC Sanctions and International Trade.

Impact

The journal attracted international media attention in the summer of 2015 when it published an article by

William C. Bradford William C. Bradford (born 1964) is an American lawyer and scholar of political science. He previously served in United States Department of Energy as the Director, Office of Indian Energy until resigning on August 31, 2017 after derogatory and ...

. The article, titled ''Trahison des Professeurs'', argues that law professors who criticize the

War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...

are operating as an Islamist

Fifth Column A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...

and should therefore be treated as “targetable”

unlawful enemy combatants An unlawful combatant, illegal combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a person who directly engages in armed conflict in violation of the laws of war and therefore is claimed not to be protected by the Geneva Conventions. The Internati ...

. The article was published in part to shed light on these controversial views and to invite responses from other academics. The journal’s new editorial board soon repudiated the article and posted a highly critical response authored by George Mason University law pProfessor Jeremy A. Rabkin. Bradford defended his views but resigned from his teaching position at the

. The controversy was covered by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

'', and other media. and the Associated Press,. The ''National Security Law Journal'' has also previously been cited in newspapers such as '' Roll Call''.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.nslj.org/ American law journals English-language journals Law journals edited by students George Mason University academic journals Biannual journals Academic journals established in 2013 National security