National Security Law Today

The Wagner Group, a private military contractor with close ties to Russia, has been linked to countless human rights abuses and destabilizing efforts across the globe. The group is now raising speculation in Sudan as they acquire resources to aid Russia's efforts in the war in Ukraine. This week, friend-of-the-cast Adam Pearlman steps in to host John Dermody and Arthur Traldi in discussing how the Wagner Group is classified, whether it should be designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, as well as how the recent ICC charges against Putin are unfolding.

Adam Pearlman is the Founder and Managing Director of Lexpat Global Services:

https://www.lexpatglobal.com/staff_trusted/adam-pearlman/

John Dermody is Counsel at O'Melveny:

https://www.omm.com/professionals/john-dermody/

Arthur Traldi is Senior Attorney-Consultant at Lexpat Global Services:

https://www.lexpatglobal.com/staff_trusted/arthur-traldi/

References:

U.S. Code: Title 18:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18

H.R. 927, Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/104th-congress/house-bill/927

“Situation in Ukraine: ICC Judges Issue Arrest Warrants against Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova.” International Criminal Court:

https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-ukraine-icc-judges-issue-arrest-warrants-against-vladimir-vladimirovich-putin-and

The Rome Statute: Crime of Aggression, and Articles 27 and 98:

https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RS-Eng.pdf

H.R. 11315, Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/94th-congress/house-bill/11315

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is set to expire this year unless reauthorized by Congress. This week, we're airing our latest live discussion featuring special guest April Doss, General Counsel at the National Security Agency. April addresses the arguments for supporting 702, where its pitfalls may lie, and how critical this framework is to national security.

April Doss is General Counsel for the National Security Agency:

https://www.nsa.gov/Culture/General-Counsel/Leadership/

Moderated by Harvey Rishikof, Senior Counselor of the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security, and Director of Policy and Cyber Research at the University of Maryland Applied Research Lab for Intelligence and Security:

https://law.temple.edu/contact/harvey-rishikof/

Introductions by Glenn Gerstell, former General Counsel for the National Security Agency:

https://glenngerstell.com/#about

References:

FISA, Section 702:

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-110hr6304enr/pdf/BILLS-110hr6304enr.pdf

E.O. 14086:

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-10-14/pdf/2022-22531.pdf

The Annual Statistical Transparency Report, 2022 Edition:

https://www.dni.gov/files/CLPT/documents/2022_ASTR_for_CY2020_FINAL.pdf

Check out the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702 Resource Page:

https://www.fisa702resources.com

*2023 Edition of The Annual Statistical Transparency Report is to be released later this month, and will be available on the 702 Resource Page listed above

China is an engine for economic growth, and within the past few decades has expanded rapidly, lifting millions out of poverty and creating new opportunities for businesses around the world. As U.S.-China relations become more strained, does the potential for competition outweigh the benefits of cooperation? This week, host Elisa is joined by David Dollar, Senior Fellow and host of the "Dollar & Sense" podcast at the Brookings Institution, to discuss the strategic implications of China's rise, how it challenges U.S. dominance, and how we maintain our mutually beneficial relationship going forward.

David Dollar is Senior Fellow for Foreign Policy, Global Economy and Development at the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution:

https://www.brookings.edu/experts/david-dollar/

Check out David's podcast, Dollar & Sense, which explores how our global trading system is built and its effect on our everyday lives:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dollar-sense-the-brookings-trade-podcast/id1442325838

The average Chinese family size is shrinking. For every 100 Chinese females there are roughly 105 Chinese males, a disparity that amounts to about 32 million more men on a countrywide scale. This shift in gender balance and family structures is the unavoidable consequence of China's declining fertility rates, and the strict One-Child Policy enacted in 1979. This week, host Elisa is joined by Ashton Verdery of Penn State University to discuss China's shifting population and how these trends will shape the country's development for years to come.

Ashton Verdery is the Harry and Elissa Sichi Early Career Professor of Sociology, Demography, and Social Data Analytics, and Associate Professor of Sociology & Demography at Penn State:

https://sociology.la.psu.edu/people/amv5430/

References:

Eberstadt, Nicholas, and Ashton Verdery. “China's Shrinking Families: The Demographic Trend That Could Curtail Beijing’s Ambitions.” Foreign Affairs, 10 Jan. 2023, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2021-04-07/chinas-shrinking-families

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, evidence has emerged that Russia has been relocating and reeducating thousands of Ukrainian children – actions that constitute war crimes, and may give evidence to genocide. This week, host Elisa is joined by friend-of-the-cast Judge Jamie Baker to discuss the latest ICC war crime charges against Putin, and what this could mean for the conflict going forward.

Hon. James E. Baker is Director of the Institute for Security Policy and Law at Syracuse University:

https://law.syracuse.edu/deans-faculty/faculty/hon-james-e-baker/?_ga=2.54182113.83813634.1674149590-222628566.1661542169

References:

The Rome Statute and associated articles:

https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RS-Eng.pdf

Russia’s Systematic Program for the Re-Education and Adoption of Ukraine's Children. Conflict Observatory and Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab. Feb. 2023:

https://hub.conflictobservatory.org/portal/apps/sites/#/home/pages/children-camps-1

The Contemporary Law of Superior Responsibility:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/abs/contemporary-law-of-superior-responsibility/47A461016A4C1E83D495F4FA2680D150

NSLT Ep. 227, "The Laws of War Revisited with Judge James Baker":

https://soundcloud.com/nsltoday/revisited-james-baker?si=5fa2d26fe58a4d409bedeeea3b1746f3&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Register for our April 17th event, "FISA Section 702 Reauthorization – a discussion with the General Counsel of the National Security Agency":

https://web.cvent.com/event/db79776b-0655-452a-bb3a-2ccc5a374099/summary

This week, host Elisa runs through the latest national security headlines, covering Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow, political turmoil in Israel, the International Criminal Court's recent charges against Russia, and more.

References:

The Rome Statute and associated articles:

https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RS-Eng.pdf

Egozi, Arie. “Improved Saudi-Iran Relationship Has Israel Nervous - about Iran, and about China.” Breaking Defense, 20 Mar. 2023:

https://breakingdefense.com/2023/03/improved-saudi-iran-relationship-has-israel-nervous-about-iran-and-about-china/.

Trevelyan, Mark. “Russia Defies Putin Arrest Warrant by Opening Its Own Case against ICC.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 20 Mar. 2023:

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-opens-criminal-case-against-icc-judges-prosecutor-over-putin-arrest-2023-03-20/.

Trofimov, Yaroslav. “Japanese Premier Visits Kyiv as Ukraine War Divides Asia.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 22 Mar. 2023:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dGvLndoVxB02f2-fNwimhrBCmRF6dqQP/view?usp=share_link

Khara, Ali. “Afghan Women, Banned from Working, Can't Provide for Their Children.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 3 Mar. 2023:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V3CZ4x3PDr-ecr4FGr5SW2hrhmB6DpBj/view?usp=share_link

Shah, Saeed. “Taliban Leader Faces Blowback over Girls' School Ban-from His Own Movement.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 22 Mar. 2023, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dq1CDo4SoOOoxb4LaGCZttRagqltTrLP/view?usp=share_link

This week, host Elisa is joined by Joshua Kurlantzick, Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. Together they discuss China's most recent attempts at soft power influence, most notably through the nations media presence across the globe. How successful have China's efforts been at influencing politics in foreign countries? What exactly do these efforts look like? And how do their reasons for wielding soft power influence compare to ours? 

Joshua Kurlantzick is Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations:https://www.cfr.org/expert/joshua-kurlantzick

References:

Kurlantzick, Joshua. Beijing's Global Media Offensive: China's Uneven Campaign to Influence Asia and the World. Oxford University Press, 2023:https://www.cfr.org/book/beijings-global-media-offensive

This week, host Elisa welcomes on Jude Blanchette, China expert at The Center for Strategic and International Studies. With a background in China's political history and the influence of the CCP, Jude unpacks China's latest political moves, how we got to the present dynamic, and what we might expect from China in the future. Beginning with Taiwan, why is the island so important to both China and the U.S.? What are China's current goals with Taiwan, and what threats does this pose to us? And looking to the West, how has Xi's relationship with Putin and China's faux neutrality towards the war in Ukraine changed the global superpower dynamic?

Jude Blanchette is Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS):

https://www.csis.org/people/jude-blanchette

References:

H.R. 2479 Taiwan Relations Act:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/96th-congress/house-bill/2479

C.H.Wong, K.Zhai, J.T. Areddy. “China's Xi Jinping Takes Rare Direct Aim at U.S. in Speech.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 6 Mar. 2023:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mcTVSYfJaf6qNGueGrL6A4x0GDEUw78T/view?usp=share_link

Person, and Laurie Chen. “Factbox: What Is China's New Government Restructuring Plan?” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 8 Mar. 2023:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14CDtz9Xk-oHXbg-6s1qufEzokEHNOljF/view?usp=share_link

Tik Tok, the Chinese-owned social media platform, has taken the U.S. by storm with nearly two thirds of American teenagers currently active on the app. Through a national security lens, Tik Tok is a giant red flag – Congress is advancing legislation to enable a nationwide ban over growing data-privacy concerns. But would a flat ban actually hurt more than it helps? This week, host Elisa welcomes Glenn Gerstell, former General Counsel at the National Security Agency. Together they examine Tik Tok's business model, what user data the company collects, and why concerns over transparency are legitimate. What does Tik Tok know about us? Is it just government employees that should be concerned? And is a nationwide flat ban just a slippery slope for future social media legislation?

Glenn Gerstell is former General Counsel at the National Security Agency:

https://glenngerstell.com/#about

References:

Gerstell, G. S. (2022, March 4). I've dealt with foreign cyberattacks. America isn't ready for what's coming. The New York Times:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SXtaBja2gqC2Q8smFBNNJ3OIQyhG_bOV/view?usp=share_link

Gerstell, G. S. (2020, November 13). The national-security case for fixing social media. The New Yorker:

https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-national-security-case-for-fixing-social-media

CBS Interactive. (n.d.). NSA's former top lawyer on understanding electronic surveillance - "Intelligence matters". CBS News:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nsas-former-top-lawyer-on-understanding-electronic-surveillance-intelligence-matters/

Glenn S. Gerstell: A tiktok ban won't solve our problems. The Salt Lake Tribune. (2023, February 5):

https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2023/02/05/glenn-s-gerstell-tiktok-ban-wont/

In the absence of regulation, we are ultimately at the mercy of social media platforms and their algorithms. This week, host Elisa welcomes Joshua Tucker, Professor of Politics at NYU, to discuss his extensive research on American elections, including voter influence through social media and how broad public opinions are formed on and off these platforms. How do you go about accessing this kind of data from platforms like Twitter, Facebook and TikTok? Does Youtube's algorithm push people towards extreme content? And how can we better regulate TikTok in particular, a Chinese controlled platform that's gained huge popularity in the U.S.?

Joshua Tucker is Professor of Politics at New York University, Director of the Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia, Co-Director NYU Center for Social Media and Politics(CSMaP):

https://as.nyu.edu/faculty/joshua-tucker.html

References:

NSLT Ep. 213, "Putin's State of Mind with Robert Dannenberg (Part 1). March 10, 2022:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000553603393

Persily, Nathaniel, and Joshua A. Tucker, editors. Social Media and Democracy: The State of the Field, Prospects for Reform. Cambridge University Press, 2020:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/social-media-and-democracy/E79E2BBF03C18C3A56A5CC393698F117

Prior, Markus. Post-Broadcast Democracy: How Media Choice Increases Inequality in Political Involvement and Polarizes Elections. Cambridge University Press, 2010:

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Post-Broadcast-Democracy/Markus-Prior/9780521675338?id=8044355996728

Guriev, S. M., and Daniel Treisman. Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Princeton University Press, 2022:

https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691211411/spin-dictators

Eady, G., Paskhalis, T., Zilinsky, J. et al. Exposure to the Russian Internet Research Agency foreign influence campaign on Twitter in the 2016 US election and its relationship to attitudes and voting behavior. Nat Commun 14, 62 (2023):

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35576-9

For a full list of Joshua Tucker's recent research, articles and book references:

https://wp.nyu.edu/fas-joshuatucker/research/