The Week That Will Be

Event Announcements (More details on the Events Calendar)

Monday, July 18th at 4pm: The Institute of World Politics will host a lecture by Dr. Mackubin Thomas Owens on Naval Warfare: The Strategic Influence of Sea Power. Register for the event here.

Tuesday, July 19th at 10am: At the Brookings Institution, Matthew Carotenuto and Sarah Margon will discuss President Obama's Role in African Strategy and Development. Michael O'Hanlon will moderate the discussion. RSVP.

Tuesday, July 19th at 1:30pm: The US Institute of Peace will host Iraq's Foreign Minister, Dr. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, for a panel discussion on Aid, ISIS and Reconciliation. Ambassador Brett McGurk will join in the discussion and Ambassador William B. Taylor will moderate. Nancy Lindborg will provide opening remarks. RVSP here.

Wednesday, July 20th at 3:30pm: French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will speak on Reinvigorating the Transatlantic Partnership to Tackle Evolving Threats at the Brookings Institution. He will be joined by Michael O'Hanlon and Phillippe Le Corre, who will moderate the discussion. Fiona Hill will provide introductory remarks. Register here.

Thursday, July 21st at 9:30am: The Woodrow Wilson Center will host a panel discussion on After ISIS: Politics, Deal-Making, and the Struggle for Iraq's Future. Speakers include Christine van de Toorn, Akeel Abbas, Mina al Oraibi, and Bilal Wahab. Henri J. Barkey will moderate. Register or catch the live webcast here.

Employment Announcements (More details on the Job Board)

Lawfare Internship

Overview:

This academic focused fall internship, beginning September 2016, is an opportunity for undergraduate students in their junior or senior year, or graduate students, with an interest in national security to apply principles and theory learned in the classroom in a professional environment. This intern will assist with running and maintaining Lawfare, a website devoted to serious, non-ideological discussion of national security legal and policy issues.

Lawfare has emerged as the internet’s indispensable resource for information and analysis on the law of national security. Devoted to “Hard National Security Choices,” the site features top-quality writing and analysis from experts on developing stories in the national security arena, relevant legislation, and judicial opinions. It is a digital magazine that includes a podcast, a book review, research tools, a daily news roundup, an events calendar, and exhaustive coverage of events other media touch only glancingly.

This unpaid internship provides a pre-professional learning experience that offers meaningful, practical work experience related to the student’s field of study or career interest. It will provide an opportunity for career exploration and development as well as a chance to learn new skills.

Responsibilities:

Learning Objectives

Students will have an opportunity learn a variety of research skills such as writing, research and blog maintenance. Learning will fall into three main categories:

• Writing: Interns will work with the Associate Editor to monitor national security and foreign policy developments, and 3-4 times per week, co-write “Today’s Headlines and Commentary.” Interns will work with the Associate Editor to co-write “The Week that Will Be,” a weekly feature that outlines upcoming events, academic announcements, and employment announcements. They will work with the Associate Editor to co-write a regular deep-dive analytical piece on a relevant national security law and policy issue. The intern will be the sole-author “The Week that Was,” a weekly piece that provides a guide to the week’s Lawfare content.
• Research: Interns will provide research support to the Lawfare editorial team as needed. Current projects include a book manuscript on the future of surveillance policy and its implications for security and a paper on technology and privacy. Interns will work to develop the Lawfare Wiki by taking a deep research dive into one or two areas of national security law. The intern will identify key primary source materials, summarize relevant documents, and create and develop the topic page on Lawfare.
• Maintaining the blog: Interns will tag and categorize Lawfare posts, track relevant Congressional hearings, and track and add relevant events to the Events Calendar.

Interns will have the opportunity to attend internal meetings, local think tank events, professional development workshops, and public Brookings events as well as participate on Brookings sports teams and network with other interns throughout the Institution.

Qualifications:

Education/Knowledge/Skills

Graduate or undergraduate student (who has completed their sophomore year) working towards a degree in government, political science, international relations, and law are encouraged to apply. Our most successful interns have very strong writing, analytical, and research skills, as well as excellent verbal and organizational skills---preferably demonstrated through prior independent research or previous experience as a research assistant.

Additional Information:

Brookings requires that all applicants submit a cover letter and resume. Please attach your cover letter and resume as one document when you apply. Your cover letter should highlight your educational experience and skills, along with an explanation of how this internship will contribute to your professional goals.

Successful completion of a background investigation is required for employment at Brookings.

Brookings is an equal-opportunity employer that is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all qualified individuals regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, physical or mental disability, marital status, veteran status, or other factors protected by law.

Legal Intern

Organization: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - Washington

FUNCTION: Legal Intern

DEPARTMENT: International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

Place of employment: Washington

DIRECT SUPERIOR: Legal Advisor

FUNCTION DESCRIPTION

Intern – International Humanitarian Law

OBJECTIVE: The Intern in the IHL Department at the Washington Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provides research and writing on topics of IHL, other branches of international law, and U.S. law as needed, thus contributing to the thematic and operational priorities of the legal team.

Minimum required knowledge & experience:

• Basic knowledge of IHL and a related legal field (e.g. National Security or Human Rights Law).

• Excellent oral and written English skills, good understanding of French an asset

• Currently pursuing a U.S. J.D. or LLM degree (or JD graduate pursuing another graduate degree)

• Applicants must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents (student work permits are excluded)

JOB DESCRIPTION

Main Responsibilities

Work with the IHL team to provide legal advice to the delegation in Washington, and to the ICRC as a whole on matters of IHL, human rights law, national security law, or other U.S. legal issues.

1. Research and Writing. Research such topics as scope of application of IHL, detention, conduct of hostilities, cyber/new technology and weapons, and other related topics. Possibility of authoring articles or other short pieces for the ICRC’s U.S. blog (intercrossblog.icrc.org).

2. Monitor Legal Developments Regular monitoring of legal blogs and news coverage to identify significant legal developments of interest to the delegation. In addition to research, the intern will attend conferences and meetings in order to monitor developments on specific legal issues on behalf of the legal team.

3. Reporting. Regular and timely reporting and analysis on meetings and events attended, as well as a weekly report on any relevant legal developments reported in external sources such as legal blogs. Reports are written for the purpose of ensuring the institution is informed of developments in U.S. policy, as well as to advance its thinking on key issues.

Management and Reporting Line. The IHL Intern reports directly to the IHL Legal Advisor. He/she is expected to collaborate with colleagues throughout the delegation in order to carry out these and other reasonably related duties.

The intern will be expected to work 20 hours a week for 12 weeks between June and August. Starting and ending date are negotiable. This is a paid internship. For information about the position, please contact Andrea Harrison at anharrison@icrc.org. To apply, please send CV and optional cover letter to Mackenzie Chernushin at mchernushin@icrc.org. Applications are due September 15th, 2016.