Our Commitment to Teaching
The wide range of topics and issues which fall under the rubric of national security law continues to expand in virtually geometric proportions, especially with regard to the continuing global war on terrorism. Events that capture daily headlines or become the lead stories on the nightly news have a dramatic and almost instantaneous effect upon national security decision-making. The same intensity of growth is mirrored in the teaching of national security law. In 1984, there were only 7 law schools in the country that offered a course in national security law, but now over 100 provide such an offering.
Our center offers a seminar on national security law at three of the five accredited law schools within the state of North Carolina: Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This seminar covers such wide-ranging topics as the separation of powers in national security matters: presidential war powers; congressional and presidential emergency powers; the domestic effect of international law; the use of military force in international relations; investigating terrorism and other national security threats; prosecuting terrorists; the use of military commissions; and access to national security information in the federal courts.
A separate seminar in military law is also offered at Duke and at the University of North Carolina, and the Center staff provides guest lectures on national security law and policy topics in undergraduate and graduate classes throughout Duke University, as well as at other colleges and universities throughout the country.
Other Activities
- Publishing monographs and articles of special interest to scholars and the national security community.
- Sponsoring the LENS Fellow program whereby scholars are directly affiliated with and supported by the Center to promote their individual research in "cutting edge" national security issues.
- Encouraging and fostering student research at various law schools in national security law topics.
- Providing expert commentary on national security law and policy issues.
- Lecturing at the service academies, as well as at military installations throughout the country, on operational law and other military-related national security topics.
- Giving guest lectures and other talks on national security to various groups throughout the country.