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Within Bounds: State Authority to Regulate Federal Contractors
As private actors take on more federal functions, states retain broad but bounded authority to hold federal contractors accountable.
The Legal Risks That Chill Good-Faith Security Research
In their own words, researchers describe how anti-hacking laws push them to abandon work, stockpile flaws, or quit the field entirely.
Everything Trump’s Election Speech Did Not Prove
After years of searching for any scrap of evidence that suggests the 2020 election was stolen, the White House still hasn’t found it.
The Short-War Illusion: What Iran Teaches Beijing About Taiwan
In Iran, the U.S. won every battle but lost the war—a lesson for Beijing that decapitation and high-tech weapons don’t guarantee victory.
Governance Fragmentation and Collapsing Health in Wartime Yemen
Humanitarian groups need international support to overcome funding shortages and the country’s divided politics.
Vermilion Tide
The Strategic Significance of Floating Nuclear Power Plants
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Within Bounds: State Authority to Regulate Federal Contractors
As private actors take on more federal functions, states retain broad but bounded authority to hold federal contractors accountable. -
The Legal Risks That Chill Good-Faith Security Research
In their own words, researchers describe how anti-hacking laws push them to abandon work, stockpile flaws, or quit the field entirely. -
Everything Trump’s Election Speech Did Not Prove
After years of searching for any scrap of evidence that suggests the 2020 election was stolen, the White House still hasn’t found it. -
The Short-War Illusion: What Iran Teaches Beijing About Taiwan
In Iran, the U.S. won every battle but lost the war—a lesson for Beijing that decapitation and high-tech weapons don’t guarantee victory. -
Governance Fragmentation and Collapsing Health in Wartime Yemen
Humanitarian groups need international support to overcome funding shortages and the country’s divided politics. -
The Week That Was
Your weekly summary of everything on the site. -
Vermilion Tide
The Strategic Significance of Floating Nuclear Power Plants -
How the U.S. Military Learned to Embrace AI Warfare
A review of Katrina Manson, “Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare” (Norton, 2026). -
Ransomware Uses AI to Amp Up Negotiations
The latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, now on Lawfare. -
Responding to AI Distillation Without Panic
Before locking in new restrictions on AI models, policymakers should ask how much distillation actually contributes to the threat. -
Implementing Universal Jurisdiction in Ukraine
Ukraine can now prosecute Russian soldiers for crimes committed in Syria—but its 2024 law leaves the practical mechanics unresolved. -
Takeaways for Iran a Year After the Syria Sanctions Rollback
Trump has said he will remove sanctions on Iran if a peace deal is reached. But the case of Syria suggests it won’t be easy. -
Driven by AI, the Future of Cybersecurity Will Resemble the Past
AI in the near term may drive cybersecurity back to its roots, when widespread vulnerabilities, not deceptive intrusions, drove incidents. -
U.S. v. Ullah and the Problem With the ‘Lone Wolf’
A federal appellate court limited a key asset in the Department of Justice’s counterterrorism toolkit.
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With every new administration comes new promises and new actions on national security. But what’s “new” has often been proposed or even tried before—which means there’s a good chance Lawfare has already analyzed some of the legal and policy implications they present. So we’re making that past content readily accessible as it becomes newly relevant.
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The Return of Schedule F
The Trump administration has proposed new rules to remove due process protections for thousands of federal employees. -
Donald Trump and the Department of Justice
On the loyalty of lawyers and the attitude of voters -
Trump’s Attacks on Justice Department Independence, Then and Now
What the first Trump administration carried out slowly, the new administration is doing at once.
Documents
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White House Releases Executive Orders on Quantum Computing
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White House Releases Executive Order on AI
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Former Cuban President Raúl Castro Indicted
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Trump Administration Releases 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy
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Southern Poverty Law Center Indicted on Federal Fraud Charges
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U.S. Government Agrees to $1.25 Million Settlement in Michael Flynn Suit
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Trump Signs Executive Order Purporting to Restrict Mail-in Voting
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ODNI Releases 2026 Threat Assessment
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Lawfare Daily: How To Make a Patriot, with Fabian Hoffman
What would it take for Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptor missiles? -
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, July 17
Listen to the July 17 livestream as a podcast. -
Lawfare Daily: Consent in the Age of AI
Discussing technical proposals aimed at preventing AI systems from generating exploitative content.
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Lawfare Live: Breaking Down President Trump's Primetime Address on Elections
Join the Lawfare team for a live debrief of last night's speech.
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