National Security Law Seminar

This course explores the what and how of national security. Specifically, what does national security mean and how does it play out institutionally, jurisprudentially, and policy-wise in the United States? Combining historical, legal, and normative perspectives, this course explores how the meaning of national security has shifted and expanded over time. Rather than being exclusively limited to notions of war and foreign policy, the concept of national security also intersects with a wide-range of domestic legal and policy issues, from civil rights and immigration, to private law, business, and environmental and economic issues. Instead of presenting a rigid notion of national security, this course aims to chart the term’s complexity, malleability, and capacity to serve ends that are both corrosive and supportive of the public good.