Author name: harvardnsj

Featured, Main Articles, Volume 16

Starving the Beast: A New Vetting Model to Prevent Corruption in International Security Sector Assistance

Nahal Kazemi* [This essay is available in PDF at this link] Abstract In 2021, the United States government identified countering corruption as a core national security interest for the first time. However, corrupt police and military forces supported by the United States in countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Nigeria, actively undermine security and reveal a profound weakness in the previous administration’s strategic anti-corruption priorities. Where the recipient government lacks the will to combat corruption, traditional anti-corruption tools are ineffective. Experts on combating international corruption, from government, the academy, and civil society agree on the importance of focusing anti-corruption efforts on […]

Featured, Main Articles, Volume 16

How Domestic Institutions Shape the Global Tech War

Anu Bradford,* Eileen Li,** & Matthew C. Waxman*** [This essay is available in PDF at this link] Abstract The United States (U.S.), China, and the European Union (EU) are engaged in a national security-driven economic competition over advanced technology. Many scholars and commentators focus on the external dimension of this geopolitical contest; that is, they describe the strategic choices by each actor in terms of geopolitical realities, threat perceptions, and relative power. However, this Article brings to the fore the internal dimension of the global tech war. We argue that each player’s strategy in the tech war is a function

Featured, Main Articles, Volume 16

Chinese Lawfare in Conflict: The Threat to U.S. Operations

Crispin Smith* [This essay is available in PDF at this link] Abstract The United States military and intelligence communities are sounding the alarm about the escalating risk of interstate conflict with the People’s Republic of China. China is already a premier practitioner of “lawfare” in the context of interstate competition, but the impact of Chinese lawfare in potential active conflict scenarios could be even more profound. Indeed, Chinese lawfare could set the conditions for U.S. or allied forces’ defeat before a single shot is fired. This paper introduces the concept of “operational lawfare” as the application of lawfare during interstate

Heller Symposium, Online Edition

THE FETISHIZATION OF “THE HUMAN” IN THE CRITIQUE OF AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS

* This article is the last in a symposium on Kevin Jon Heller’s “The Concept of “the Human” in the Critique of Autonomous Weapons,” published in this journal in 2023. It responds to prior articles in the symposium which can be found in the Harvard National Security Journal Online at https://harvardnsj.org/onlineedition.  Kevin Jon Heller [**] [This essay is available in PDF at this link] INTRODUCTION At the beginning of their response to my article, Elke Schwarz and Neil Renic say that “[w]e know and like Kevin.”[1] Bo does not say that she likes me in her response, but I’m confident that

Heller Symposium, Online Edition, Uncategorized

Countering the “Humans vs. AWS” Narrative and the Inevitable Accountability Gaps for Mistakes in Targeting: A Reply to Kevin Jon Heller

*This article is part of a symposium on Kevin Jon Heller’s “The Concept of “the Human” in the Critique of Autonomous Weapons,” published in this journal in 2023. All articles in the symposium can be found in the Harvard National Security Journal Online at https://harvardnsj.org/onlineedition.   Dr. Marta Bo[**] [This essay is available in PDF at this link] I. Introduction  In this reply, I challenge the “Humans vs. AWS” narrative, which claims that AWS will achieve unprecedented targeting accuracy compared to humans. By highlighting the flaws in this comparison, I also dispute the idea that there will always be gaps in accountability for

Online Edition

The Image of Combat, Not Community: A Critique on Law Enforcement Use of Military Equipment

Editors’ Note: The author researched and wrote this piece the summer after her first-year of law school, in 2020. The piece was accepted as an anonymous student submission shortly thereafter. Since then, the author obtained her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2022 and is now a practicing attorney in New York. Natassia Velez* [This essay is available in PDF at this link] Introduction Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the scene play out on the screen before her. A Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle lumbered down the street, and a line of forces stood wearing

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