National Security Law

Within National Security Law

U.S. national security and foreign policy is inextricably linked with relevant domestic and international legal frameworks. From emergency powers to war powers, harnessing emerging technologies to protecting civil liberties, military engagement abroad to deployment domestically, legal issues are central to the most critical national security and foreign policy debates of today and tomorrow.

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) National Security Law Program makes sense of this complicated realm, providing nonpartisan, expert-level legal analysis of how constitutional, international, and statutory law, as well as other relevant legal authorities, inform policy decisions. The program’s research agenda focuses on critical areas of national security law that benefit from timely analysis, pragmatic recommendations, and policy relevance. Leveraging CNAS’s strong bipartisan convening power, the program provides a platform for expert public dialogues and private debate and discussion. Further, the program provides meaningful opportunities to develop the next generation of national security law practitioners.

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National Security Law

U.S. Military Prepares to Board Iran-Linked Ships in Coming Days, Officials Say

“It’s a maximalist approach. If you want to put the screws down on Iran, you want to use every single legal authority you have to do that,” Nevitt said....

In The News
National Security Law

What to Know About ‘Ship Spoofing’ by Iran-Linked Vessel to Breach the U.S. Blockade of the Strait of Hormuz

Boarding operations would likely rely on smaller, more maneuverable assets, including rigid-hull boats and helicopters, to rapidly intercept and inspect vessels, Mark Nevitt, ...

In The News
National Security Law

Can the U.S. and Iran Close Off the Strait of Hormuz? What International Law Says.

Here, most experts agree that the stakes are extremely high. Until the Iran war, the international law governing the seas “was going so fine that no one thought about it,” say...

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Research Team