News•Mar 10, 2026
Grok Showed the World What Ungoverned AI Looks Like
The International AI Safety Report warned that AI advances outpace safeguards, a warning made stark by xAI’s Grok chatbot flooding the internet with sexualized deepfakes, including images of minors. Governments from Malaysia to the United States reacted with bans, investigations, and cease‑and‑desist letters, but each action was confined to national jurisdiction. xAI complied only where illegal, exposing a fragmented global response. The episode underscores the urgent need for coordinated, cross‑border mechanisms to detect and mitigate AI‑generated harms before they proliferate.
By Just Security
News•Mar 10, 2026
A Year Later – What Did the Pause on FCPA Enforcement Do?
In February 2025 the Trump administration halted implementation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, prompting a sharp decline in both DOJ criminal convictions and SEC civil actions. The SEC’s dedicated FCPA unit was disbanded, staffing cuts hit the DOJ fraud...
By Just Security
News•Mar 9, 2026
Iran, War Powers, and the Power of the Purse: Leverage or Legalization
President Donald Trump initiated Operation Epic Fury against Iran on Feb. 28, launching a multi‑theater conflict without any congressional war‑declaration. The move sidestepped the Constitution’s war‑powers framework, forcing Congress to react by voting on measures to halt the hostilities, both...
By Just Security
News•Mar 8, 2026
Sinking Iran’s Frigate IRIS Dena and the Law of Naval Warfare
On March 4, the U.S. attack submarine USS Charlotte launched two MK‑48 torpedoes that sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena about 20 nautical miles off Sri Lanka. The warship, returning from multinational exercises, sank within minutes, leaving roughly 30 survivors and dozens of casualties....
By Just Security
News•Mar 7, 2026
Digest of Recent Articles on Just Security (Feb. 28-Mar. 6, 2026)
Just Security released a weekly digest (Feb. 28‑Mar. 6, 2026) that aggregates new legal scholarship on a range of security issues. The collection spotlights intensive analysis of the U.S.–Israel–Iran conflict, including pre‑emptive strike doctrine and international reactions, while also covering the Russia‑Ukraine war,...
By Just Security
News•Mar 6, 2026
Artificial Urgency: Reflecting on AI Hype at the 2026 REAIM Summit
The third REAIM Summit in A Coruña shifted focus from abstract debates to concrete steps for governing military AI, highlighting the gap between rapid AI development and slow defence procurement cycles. Participants warned that hype‑driven narratives obscure technical realities, risking...
By Just Security
News•Mar 5, 2026
Early Edition: March 5, 2026
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the Strait of Hormuz is closed to U.S., Israeli, European and other Western ships as Iran escalates its war with Israel and the United States. U.S.-Israeli strikes have killed 920 Iranians and prompted Iranian...
By Just Security
News•Mar 4, 2026
For Lasting Stability, Venezuela Needs a Peace Process
U.S. Delta Force captured President Nicolás Maduro in December, installing Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as acting leader with a narrow mandate to open the oil sector to American firms. Analysts argue that Venezuela’s long‑term stability hinges on a comprehensive peace...
By Just Security
News•Mar 4, 2026
Was Targeting Ayatollah Khamenei and Other Iranian Leaders Lawful? What Precedents Does It Set?
The latest Israel‑U.S. campaign that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials raises complex questions about the law of armed conflict (LOAC). Under LOAC, state leaders can be lawfully targeted if they are combatants or civilians directly participating...
By Just Security
News•Mar 3, 2026
Double Preemption, Imminence, and the U.S. Attack Against Iran
U.S. officials, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, framed the March 2026 strike on Iran as a pre‑emptive, or anticipatory, act of self‑defense, arguing that an imminent Israeli attack would trigger Iranian retaliation against U.S. bases. The justification hinges...
By Just Security
News•Mar 3, 2026
How a Broadly Defined Counterterrorism Statute Could Be Abused
A superseding indictment in Texas adds material‑support‑to‑terrorism charges under 18 U.S.C. § 2339A to nine defendants accused of shooting a police officer during a July 4, 2025 protest at an ICE detention center. The statute, originally crafted to disrupt terrorist logistics, does not require proof...
By Just Security
News•Mar 3, 2026
Russia’s Big War at Four: Ukraine Keeps Fighting and Keeps Talking
Ukraine has emerged from its harshest winter with its power grid crippled by Russian attacks that cut electricity production by roughly 80%, yet civilian life in Kyiv continues thanks to generators and restored heating. On the battlefield, the front remains...
By Just Security
News•Mar 2, 2026
The Trump Administration’s Theory of Constitutional War Powers: “The President Could Decide”
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel released a memorandum justifying the Trump administration’s 2025 Venezuela operation, revealing that the memo places the decision on the president’s authority rather than providing an independent legal determination. It concedes a lack of...
By Just Security
News•Feb 28, 2026
International Reactions to Military Strikes on Iran: A Tipping Point for the UN Charter?
President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces have launched major combat operations against Iran, a move widely regarded as a clear breach of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. An emergency UN Security Council session is convening to address the violation....
By Just Security
News•Feb 28, 2026
Digest of Recent Articles on Just Security (Feb. 23-27, 2026)
Just Security’s weekly digest (Feb. 23‑27, 2026) aggregates more than a dozen expert pieces on international law, security, and U.S. policy. Highlights include a two‑part analysis of a lawful peace for Ukraine, a court‑focused critique of ICE and CBP actions, an updated...
By Just Security