Laura A. Dickinson, Oswald Symister Colclough Research Professor and Professor of Law, was awarded the 2021 Mike Lewis Prize for National Security Law Scholarship by The Strauss Center for International Security and Law for her article "National Security Policymaking in the Shadow of International Law," which was published in the Utah Law Review. The prize is given annually to the best article on national security law published during the year, as determined by a committee of leading scholars.
Professor Dickinson’s article explores the potential impact of international law on national security policymaking and describes how the norms and values embedded in international human rights law can sometimes be adopted, if not as a matter of formal law at the international level, then as a matter of official policy and practice. In addition, the article surveys the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach, using two different Obama administration counterterrorism policies and Trump administration successor policies as case studies.
The article concludes that policy, surprisingly, is “sticky”— it lasts across multiple administrations with different views about international law. At the same time, across multiple administrations officials have embraced policy approaches as a way of avoiding legal limits on the “global war paradigm” that emerged after the 9-11 attacks on the United States.
Dickinson explains that a key question for the Biden administration right now is whether to pull back on that war paradigm and embrace a more human rights-oriented approach as a matter of law. “It’s exciting that my article can inform that debate,” she said.
Professor Dickinson feels honored by the award. “A committee comprised of the leading national security law scholars and practitioners in the country made the decision to award this prize. It is an incredible honor to know that [they] selected my work for its excellence,” she said.
The Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin and Ohio Northern University’s Pettit College of Law, in consultation with the American Association of Law Schools Section on National Security Law, established the Mike Lewis Prize for National Security Law Scholarship.
“I hope the prize will increase the visibility of the article, which I think can potentially inform or even shape national security decision-making and legal analysis,” said Professor Dickinson. “It will also bring added recognition to our incredible program here at GW Law in National Security, Cybersecurity, and Foreign Relations Law, which can increase the impact of scholarship by other GW faculty and students affiliated with the program.”
The prize will benefit GW Law students in other ways as well. “Work on articles such as this one provides opportunities for our students to gain expertise in the field of national security law. My research assistants Patrick Burnett (JD ’21), Rachael Sullivan (JD ’21), and Christine Coogle (JD ’20), provided invaluable research support when I wrote the article,” said Professor Dickinson. “These students share in the honor that the prize confers, and I am also incredibly grateful to them for all their hard work.”