National Security & Law Task Force

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Analysis and Commentary

Estonian Digital Residency Update IV: The President Weighs In On "Going Dark"

by Benjamin Wittesvia Lawfare
Tuesday, March 1, 2016

The FBI v. Apple flap exploded on the public scene just as I was learning my way around my new Estonian e-Residency card, which promises—among other things—secure communications between card holders. I am currently working on the next piece in my series about Estonian e-Residency, so more on the...

Interviews

Jessica Stern On NPR (1:20)

interview with Jessica Sternvia NPR
Sunday, March 15, 2015

Jessica Stern, a member of Hoover's National Security & Law Task Force, explains the rise of ISIS and what it will take to defeat ISIS.

Analysis and Commentary

ISIS And The Foreign-Fighter Phenomenon

by Jessica Stern, J.M. Berger via The Atlantic
Sunday, March 8, 2015

Why do people travel abroad to take part in somebody else’s violent conflict?

Complexities of CybersecurityAnalysis and Commentary

Combating Cyberattacks In The Age Of Globalization

by Shavit Matias via The Briefing
Thursday, March 5, 2015

The cyberattack late last year on Sony Pictures, intended to deter the release of the movie “The Interview” — combined with threats of physical harm to civilians — threw once again into sharp relief the complexity and dangers of cyberspace. 

Complexities of CybersecurityAnalysis and Commentary

Protecting Critical US Infrastructure

by Philip Bobbittvia The Briefing
Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Presidential Decision Directive 63 was a novel and creative first step in establishing a national policy for the protection of critical US infrastructure.  Novel, in that it was the first presidential national security directive to be born unclassified...

Complexities of CybersecurityAnalysis and Commentary

Cultivating Cyberattack Norms After Snowden and Sony

by Matthew Waxmanvia The Briefing
Tuesday, March 3, 2015

The cyberattack late last year against Sony, attributed by the US government to North Korea, has highlighted the issue of international norms — especially those related to impermissible actions in cyberspace and permissible actions in response to them.  For the United States to effectively advance norms it must balance secrecy and transparency as well as build and sustain credibility.

Complexities of CybersecurityAnalysis and Commentary

UN-THINKABLE: The United Nations Is Not The Place To Regulate The Internet

by Ruth Wedgwoodvia The Briefing
Monday, March 2, 2015

The United Nations is always looking for useful work — seeking to please 193 member states and find a way to collect their dues. But regulating the Internet is one case where Turtle Bay should keep its hands off the wheel.

Complexities of CybersecurityAnalysis and Commentary

Snowden And The Opposite Of Blowback

by Tod Lindbergvia The Briefing
Thursday, February 26, 2015

The Washington Post carried a truly revelatory story by Greg Miller in its December 29 editions, although the story perhaps failed to generate as much attention as it should have. Some of the neglect may have been a product of its publication between Christmas and New Year’s, but a larger share is surely attributable to the inconvenience of its content.

Blank Section (Placeholder)Analysis and Commentary

ISIS’s Apocalyptic Vision

by Jessica Sternvia Defining Ideas
Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Many Islamists believe that they are fighting the “Final Battle” against the West.

 
Complexities of CybersecurityAnalysis and Commentary

The Snowden Revelations And Cybersecurity

by Benjamin Wittesvia The Briefing
Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Too often, we talk about cybersecurity as though it were a single good. We treat it, that is to say, like airline security, where our policy objective is zero civilian jetliner or general aviation vulnerabilities. 

Pages

The Hoover Institution Jean Perkins National Security & Law Task Force is no longer active as of August 31, 2015. This page will not be updated with future posts.

The Briefing

The Briefing provides perspectives on national security under the auspices of the rule of law and US constitutional law.

Lawfare Blog

Privacy, Security, and the National Security Agency (NSA)

Hoover hosts Intelligence Challenges Workshop

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Hoover senior fellow Amy Zegart and National Security Affairs Fellow Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Atkins hosted thirty five experts from government, the military, academia, and the private sector for a day-long workshop examining key current and emerging intelligence challenges. 

Event
The Briefing: Second Term Challenges - header

Second Term Challenges

Thursday, January 24, 2013

As Barack Obama begins his second term as president of the United States, the nation faces a range of formidable challenges at the intersection of which are national security and law.

News
Jeremy Rabkin (left) and Ariel Rabkin

New essay concerning cyber threats from the National Security and Law Task Force

Monday, May 21, 2012

The newest essay, “To Confront Cyber Threats, We Must Rethink the Law of Armed Conflict,” by Jeremy and Ariel Rabkin, is available on the Emerging Threats essay series page.

News
Living with the UN: American Responsibilities and International Order

International Law Expert Defines Ideal United States-United Nations Relationship Living with the UN: American Responsibilities and International Order

Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Stanford

Hoover Institution Press today released Living with the UN: American Responsibilities and International Order by Ken Anderson. In this book, Anderson examines the relationship between the United States and the United Nations and analyzes their interaction on issues including security, human rights, and development.

Press Releases
Israel and the Struggle over the International Laws of War

Politics and Law Scholar Peter Berkowitz Examines the Politicization of the Laws of War in Israel and the Struggle over the International Laws of War (Hoover Institution Press)

Monday, April 9, 2012
Stanford

Hoover Institution Press released Israel and the Struggle over the International Laws of War by Hoover senior fellow Peter Berkowitz. Berkowitz defends the international laws of war by exposing the flawed assumptions and defective claims that have gained currency from The Goldstone Report (2009 Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission) and the Gaza Flotilla controversy. In both instances, Berkowitz argues, accusations of unlawful conduct directed at Israel by official bodies of the United Nations, European states, Arab states, and Turkey that relied more on bluster and the determination to gain political advantage than on sound legal analysis. In both cases those accusations worked to criminalize not only Israel’s legitimate right of self-defense but all liberal democracies’ right to defend themselves against transnational terror.

Press Releases
National Security and Law Task Force meeting, January 2012.

Hoover Institution hosts National Security and Law Task Force meeting

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Koret-Taube Task Force on National Security and Law met at the Hoover Institution on Thursday, January 5, 2012, to discuss the pressing challenges the United States confronts as it seeks, consistent with the Constitution and the international laws of war, to defend the nation and, where necessary, wage war.

News
Eyes on Spies: Congress and the United States Intelligence Community

Hoover Institution Press Releases Book Highlighting Why America's Post-9/11 Intelligence System Remains Dysfunctional

Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Stanford

Hoover Institution Press today released Eyes on Spies: Congress and the United States Intelligence Community by Hoover senior fellow Amy Zegart. Zegart's commentary is especially poignant in light of tenth anniversary of 9/11. As the nation evaluates whether we are safer today than we were ten years ago, Zegart examines surprising reasons for weaknesses in the US intelligence community and sheds light on why deficiencies continue to persist.

Press Releases
The Hoover Institution’s Koret-Taube Task Force on National Security and Law met June 10 and 11.

Hoover's National Security and Law Task Force Hosts Meeting

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Hoover Institution’s Koret-Taube Task Force on National Security and Law, which examines the rule of law, the laws of war, and American constitutional law with a view to promoting proposals that strike an optimal balance between individual freedom and the vigorous defense of the nation against terrorists both abroad and at home, met June 10 and 11.

News
Stewart A. Baker

Stewart Baker, former Homeland Security official, addressed Hoover’s Koret-Taube Task Force on National Security and Law

Thursday, January 7, 2010

On January 7, 2010, Stewart Baker, former assistant secretary of Homeland Security, explained how exponential advances in technology improve the quality of life while at the same time provide terrorists unprecedented powers to wreak death and destruction.

News
Ruth Wedgewood

Task Force on National Security and Law Dinner

Thursday, June 11, 2009
Hoover

The Hoover Institution’s Koret-Taube Task Force on National Security and Law dinner was held in the Nicolas de Basily Room of the Hoover Tower on June 11. Task force member Ruth Wedgewood delivered before-dinner remarks titled “Piracy and the Law Adrift.”

Event

Pages

The National Security and Law Task Force examines the rule of law, the laws of war, and American constitutional law with a view to making proposals that strike an optimal balance between individual freedom and the vigorous defense of the nation against terrorists both abroad and at home.

The task force’s focus is the rule of law and its role in Western civilization, as well as the roles of international law and organizations, the laws of war, and U.S. criminal law. Those goals will be accomplished by systematically studying the constellation of issues—social, economic, and political—on which striking a balance depends.

Peter Berkowitz serves as chair of the National Security and Law Task Force.