How State and Local Governments Can Fight Back Against Authoritarianism

Erwin Chemerinsky and Aziz Huq discuss the powers and authorities that state and local governments can use to fight back against authoritarianism and serve as a check against federal overreach.Related Articles:“Fight Back: How States Can Counter Authoritarianism” Series, Sept. 21, 2026Erwin Chemerinsky and Aziz Z. Huq, Introduction to “Fight Back: How States Can Counter Authoritarianism” Series (Aug. 20, 2026)Jessica Bulman-Pozen, Commandeering, Coercion, and Executive Power (Aug. 21, 2026)Steven J. Kochevar, States Can Fight Federal Overreach by Protecting State Data (Aug. 26, 2026)Fred O. Smith, Jr., Collateral Accountability: The Oldest Check on Federal Lawlessness (Aug. 28, 2026)Catherine E. Lhamon, State Imperatives to Protect Civil Rights for All (Sept. 2, 2026)Jill Habig, Cities as Nodes of Resistance (Sept. 4, 2026)Miriam Seifter, Governors and State Administration (Sept. 9, 2026)David L. Noll, State Attorneys General Can Enforce Federal Laws the Executive Branch Won’t (Sept. 21, 2026)

Daniel Forti and Mariea Sekijima of the International Crisis Group join host Viola Gienger to discuss the most important developments from the 2026 United Nations General Assembly’s high-level week.Related Articles:As Leaders Gather at the U.N. General Assembly, Competition May Outdo Cooperation by Richard Gowan, Daniel Forti and Mariea Sekijima, Sept. 17, 2026Reading the Signals of China’s U.N. Security Council Role in the Afghanistan Mission Renewal by Richard Gowan and Daniel Forti, July 31, 2026U.N. Secretary-General Candidates May Agree More than They Differ on the Way Forward by Nudhara Yusuf, Justin Snyder and Eirini Giannopoulou, Aug. 5, 2026For all of Just Security’s U.N. General Assembly coverage, see: UN General Assembly (UNGA) Archives - Just Security For Just Security’s United Nations coverage writ large, see: United Nations Archives – Just SecurityResources:U.N. website for the General Assembly's High-level Week 2026International Crisis Group’s Special Coverage Updates from the UN General Assembly 2026

Host David Aaron joins Adam Hickey to discuss an unusual announcement from the Department of Justice on the Foreign Agents Registration Act and Section 951.Show Note:Office of Public Affairs | Liability for Unregistered Foreign Agents | United States Department of Justice

Co-hosts Ryan Goodman and Tess Bridgeman are joined by Daniel Fried and Nicholas Rasmussen to discuss how the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the United States’ responses to it have shaped U.S. national security, foreign policy, and alliances.Show Note (related articles): 9/11 Then and Now: How it Shapes Us 25 Years On A Quarter Century After 9/11: Lessons Learned and Lost The Looming Terrorist Threats to America 

Host Ryan Goodman is joined by Tom Dannenbaum, Margaret Donovan, and Todd Huntley to discuss whether the United States has violated the law of armed conflict in its conduct of the Iran war. They discuss what evidence would be required to make that determination and what to watch for as the war continues. Show Notes:Collection: Iran, Israel and the United States at War (2025-2026 Operations) (continually updated)Mark Nevitt, Five “Blockades” and One Legal Problem: Naval Enforcement in the U.S.–Iran Conflict (May 1, 2026)Tess Bridgeman and Oona A. Hathaway, At the 60-Day Mark, the Iran War is Triply IllegalBrian Finucane, On the State Department Memorandum “Operation Epic Fury and International Law” (April 24, 2026)Michael Schmitt, Tess Bridgeman and Ryan Goodman, On Ambassador Waltz’s Defense of Potential Law of War Violations in the Iran Conflict (April 22, 2026)Tom Dannenbaum, Rebecca Hamilton, Adil Ahmad Haque, Oona A. Hathaway and Gabor Rona, Over 100 International Law Experts Warn: U.S. Strikes on Iran Violate UN Charter and May Be War Crimes (April 13, 2026)Margaret Donovan and Rachel VanLandingham, Lt Col, USAF (Ret.), When War Crimes Rhetoric Becomes Battlefield Reality: The Slippery Slope to Total War on Iran (April 6, 2026)

Co-Hosts Tess Bridgeman and Rachel Goldbrenner are joined by Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane to discuss how the Trump administration’s campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific has escalated and evolved in the year since the strikes began. The conversation examines the administration’s legal justifications for the strikes, the potential for escalation to targets on land, and what the creation of Joint Task Force - Western Hemisphere could mean for the campaign’s future. This installment is part six of the “Murder on the High Seas” series, produced in collaboration with the Reiss Center on Law and Security. Show Notes:Just Security’s Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers, Operation Southern Spear, Operation Absolute Resolve   Jeremy Chin, Margaret Lin, and Aidan Arasasingham, Timeline of Boat Strikes and Related Actions (continually updated)Tess Bridgeman, Michael Schmitt, Ryan Goodman, and Brian Finucane, Key Questions on U.S. Killing Tren de Aragua Leader Inside Venezuela (June 15, 2026)Brian Finucane, “Did the United States just Bomb Ecuador?” (Mar. 13, 2026)Rebecca Ingber, The Trump Administration’s Theory of Constitutional War Powers: “The President Could Decide” (Mar. 2, 2026)  Edward Swaine, Can the U.S. Government Be Sued for Wrongful Death in a Caribbean Boat Strike? (Jan. 29, 2026)Tess Bridgeman and Brian Finucane, War Powers, Venezuela, Drug Boats, and Congress (Jan. 12, 2026) Tess Bridgeman, Michael Schmitt, and Ryan Goodman, Expert Q&A on U.S. Military Action in Venezuela and Boat Strikes (Jan. 6, 2026)Michael Schmitt, Marko Milanovic, The International Law Obligation to Investigate the Boat Strikes (Dec. 15, 2025)Mark Nevitt, The Law on Targeting Shipwrecked Drug Traffickers: Expert Backgrounder (Dec. 11, 2025)Michael Schmitt, Ryan Goodman and Tess Bridgeman, Operation Southern Spear: Why the Crews, Drugs, and Boats are Not Targetable (Dec. 7, 2025)Michael Schmitt, Ryan Goodman and Tess Bridgeman, Unlawful Orders and Killing Shipwrecked Boat Strike Survivors: An Expert Backgrounder (Dec. 1, 2025)Daniel Maurer, Hypothetical Legal Review of Narcotrafficking Strikes (Nov. 18, 2025)Michael Schmitt, Marko Milanovic, and Ryan Goodman, The International Law Obligation of States to Stop Intelligence Support for U.S. Boat Strikes (Nov. 17, 2025)Brian Finucane, Dissecting the Trump Administration’s Effort to Circumvent the War Powers Resolution for Boat Strikes (Nov. 3, 2025)Rebecca Ingber and Jessica Thibodeau, Expert Backgrounder on War Powers Resolution 60-Day Clock for Boat Strikes Expiring Monday (Oct. 31, 2025)Previously on “Murder on the High Seas”Tess Bridgeman, Rachel Goldbrenner, Rebecca Ingber, and Brian Finucane, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part V (May 7, 2026)Tess Bridgeman, Rachel Goldbrenner, Rebecca Ingber, and Brian Finucane, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part IV (Dec. 2, 2025)Tess Bridgeman, Brian Finucane, and Rebecca Ingber, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part III  (Oct. 21, 2025, also available on YouTube)Tess Bridgeman, Brian Finucane, Rachel Goldbrenner, and Rebecca Ingber, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part II — What We Know about U.S. Vessel Strikes One Month In (Oct. 7, 2025)Tess Bridgeman, Brian Finucane, and Rebecca Ingber, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas? What You Need to Know about the U.S. Strike on the Caribbean Vessel (Sept. 9, 2025, also available on YouTube)

Host Dani Schulkin is joined by Steve Vladeck and Jess Dawgert to discuss the first-ever case before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court. They explain what the court is, why it sat unused for thirty years, and what its first case means for due process and the immigration system.Show Note (related articles and links): https://www.justsecurity.org/148285/the-alien-terrorist-removal-courts-first-case/ https://www.justsecurity.org/149897/alien-terrorist-removal-court-immigration/https://www.atrc.uscourts.gov/And for all of Just Security's coverage of immigration, see:https://www.justsecurity.org/tag/immigration/ 

Host Ryan Goodman is joined by guests Rebecca Hamilton and Alex Whiting, experts with deep experience in the practice and study of international criminal law, to discuss the recent vote by states to remove Karim Khan as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, effective immediately, for sexual misconduct against a junior staff member. They discuss what this investigation – and its defense – has meant for the ICC as an institution and for its ongoing cases, and what comes next for the ICC and its members.Show Notes:https://www.justsecurity.org/149478/future-international-criminal-court/https://www.justsecurity.org/148713/icc-prosecutor-removal-vote/https://www.justsecurity.org/125682/new-icc-prosecutor-regardless-un-report/And for all of Just Security’s coverage of the ICC, see:https://www.justsecurity.org/tag/international-criminal-court/

A free and independent press has long been understood as a core element of healthy and secure democracies. Particularly in the realm of national security and foreign policy, news reporting and investigations are an integral source of information that enables the American public to evaluate the decisions of their elected officials. Yet today the press is facing new or newly acute challenges arising from the executive branch, Congress, and even the media industry itself—all unfolding against the backdrop of an already-siloed and mistrustful information landscape.What is it like to lead a newsroom and report on national security issues today? Which legal issues are top of mind for media and free speech lawyers and scholars? What are the most pressing challenges and opportunities? On May 18, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and Just Security convened a discussion with frontline experts to address these questions. Show Note: The Trump Administration's Use of State Power Against Media: Keeping Track of the Big Picture by Rebecca Hamilton Just Security’s Freedom of the Press Archive 

Over the past year, U.S. anti-corruption policy has undergone significant shifts — from changes in FCPA enforcement to sanctions rollbacks and institutional drawdowns — raising questions about America’s global role. At the same time, anti-corruption movements are gaining momentum worldwide. Dani Schulkin speaks with Richard Nephew and Bruce Swartz about what these trends mean for enforcement, international cooperation, and the future of the anti-corruption agenda.Show Note:  Three Lessons from the Intersection of Sanctions and Corruption by Richard Nephew (May 13, 2026)  The Anti-Corruption Tracker: Mapping the Erosion of Oversight and Accountability "When the Guardrails Erode" Series