Terrorism & Violent Extremism

Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.

Highlights:

Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers, Operation Southern Spear, Operation Absolute Resolve

Collection of expert analysis on the legality of the U.S. strike on Venezuelan vessels in the Caribbean, the consequences of the strike, and related issues.
A man holds a Syrian flag across the street from the White House. An American flag waves in the background.

Caesar Act Repeal and the Syria Sanctions Removal Report Card

Where things stand along the path of Syria sanctions removal and what restrictions remain to inhibit burgeoning investment and development in post-Assad Syria.
A young boy looks on at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah on December 9, 2025, which resulted in a Palestinian man being killed.

An Analysis of Resolution 2803 and the International Stabilization Force: A Militarized Enforcement Mission with Precarious Legal and Strategic Implications

UN Resolution 2803 authorizes a Gaza stabilization force under U.S. guidance, raising questions about legality, impartiality, and risks to Palestinian self-rule.
The logo of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seen at the Los Angeles Federal Building in May 2025. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

How the DOJ is Prosecuting Nihilistic Violent Extremism as Domestic Terrorism

The DOJ has charged an alleged nihilistic violent extremist with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists for the first time.
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The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part IV

Co-hosted with RCLS, a panel of experts discuss the Trump administration's continued campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers.
IMAGES (left to right): Natural disaster and its consequences (via Getty Images); In this picture taken on September 28, 2022, an internally displaced flood-affected family sits outside their tent at a makeshift tent camp in Jamshoro district of Sindh province (Photo by Rizwan Tabassum/AFP via Getty Images; Trees smolder and burn during the Dixie fire near Greenville, California on August 3, 2021. – Numerous fires are raging through the state’s northern forests, as climate change makes wildfire season longer, hotter and more devastating. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Just Security’s Climate Archive

A catalog of articles analyzing the diplomatic, political, legal, security, and humanitarian consequences of the international climate crisis.
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2,233 Articles
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks down stairs

From Secret Law (2001-2024) to None at All (2025-present)

The Trump administration's lethal strikes are the apotheosis of the last quarter century's often always secret and often unreviewable executive branch legal reasoning.
Hungarian activists of the neo-Nazi Blood and Honour group hold flags in Budapest 11 February 2006 as participants bring wreaths at the tomb of Unknown Soldier in Heroes Square in Budapest where a German WWII helmet and wood cross were placed. More than 600 people attended the event to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the ill-fated escape attempt of Nazi German and Hungarian soldiers from Buda Castle, which was besieged 11 February 1945 by the Soviet Red Army at the end of World War II. (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images)

State Dept’s Foreign Terrorist Designations Undermine Claims of “Antifa” Threat

Leading counter-extremism expert unpacks the administration's claimed designation of "Antifa Groups"
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The Just Security Podcast: Examining the Trump Administration’s New Antifa Designations

Tom Joscelyn talks with former DOJ counsel Tom Brzozowski about new Antifa designations, their civil liberties impact, and changing limits on speech and association.
An injured boy lays on his back in a van as two others attend to his wounds.

The Political Theater Behind Trump’s “Guns-a-Blazing” Nigeria Threat

Trump’s threat of military intervention in Nigeria may be intended more for domestic audiences and wouldn't address the drivers of the country's conflict.
Two Afghan women wearing, from left to right, a light blue and a darker blue burqa sit on the ground with baskets in front of them and what appears to be a more formal market stall behind them, in Mazar-i-Sharif on October 2, 2025. At the left of the photo next to the women is a wheelbarrow turned against a wall. (Photo by ATIF ARYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Walls of Silence, Crumbling Futures: Why the World Must Act on Afghanistan

The credibility of the U.N.'s human rights framework depends on whether it can confront a systematic experiment in gender oppression with more than statements of alarm.
In this photo illustration the logo of US online social media and social networking site 'X' (formerly known as Twitter) is displayed centrally on a smartphone screen alongside that of Threads (L) and Instagram (R) on August 01, 2023 in Bath, England. On the top row the logo of online video sharing and social media platform YouTube is seen alongside that of Whatsapp and TikTok. Along the bottom row Facebook, Quora amd Messenger are displayed.

The Feedback Loop Between Online Extremism and Acts of Violence

Each new incident of political violence is followed by a wave of digital celebration, intimidation, and imitation. Responses remain polarized and superficial.
U.S. President Donald Trump (C) speaks as (L-R) White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel listen during a roundtable discussion in the State Dining Room of the White House on October 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump’s administration held the roundtable to discuss the anti-fascist Antifa movement after signing an executive order designating it as a “domestic terrorist organization”. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

How Designating Antifa as a Foreign Terrorist Organization Could Threaten Civil Liberties

If the Trump administration designates Antifa as an FTO, it could have implications extending beyond anti-fascist activists to the entire architecture of U.S. civil society.
A police officer responds to a shooting at Evergreen High School on September 10, 2025 in Evergreen, Colorado. At least three students, including the suspected shooter, were injured in the attack. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

Correctly Assessing Left-Wing Terrorism and Political Violence in the United States

A recent published report risks feeding false narratives about political violence and polarization.
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The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part III

Tess Bridgeman is joined by Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane to assess the latest strikes, the brief detention of two survivors, where the campaign may be headed, and what…
Right-wing white nationalists hold flags with signs like "white pride worldwide."

A New Approach in the Fight Against Transnational Violent Extremism is Needed

If the U.S. and foreign partners could strategically deploy their counterterrorism programs to deliberately target a common enemy, all would mutually benefit.
Police maintain a presence outside a command center holding evacuated students following the lockdown of the school after a call of an active shooter on March 29, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Many schools, including Oakland Catholic and Pittsburgh Central Catholic, were targeted as part of what authorities are calling "computer-generated swatting calls." Many agencies, including state and municipal police, are conducting investigations. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Swatting Attacks and Nihilistic Violent Extremism: A Primer

Swatting attacks are sometimes dismissed as pranks or hoaxes. But they’ve wreaked havoc on college campuses this year and a network of extremists is behind many of them.

Assassinations in America: How Political Violence Became Personal

Americans can no longer turn to their political leadership to avert the catastrophe of political violence.
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