Dear Members of the Harvard Community:

Thank you for visiting the Harvard National Security & Law Association (NSLA)—the preeminent organization for those interested in national security at Harvard Law School.

Our first mission is to promote discourse on national security on campus, from how “national security” should be defined to how it should be secured in practice. To do so, we organize monthly events on campus with esteemed practitioners and academics in the national security space. Over the last few years, we’ve welcomed leaders from DOJ’s National Security Division, former CIA director General (ret.) David Petraeus, former Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, New York Times journalist David Sanger, former Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, and Mozilla Chief Legal Officer Amy Keating. This year, the list will be no less exciting as we promote discussion around the 2020 election and debate about how the United States should conceive of its national security in the years ahead.

Our second mission is to be an academic and professional resource for HLS students. To do this, we assist our members with career advice and networking opportunities and will be creating an academic “national security” bank this year. We also hope to expand NSLA into a viable national security “network” for HLS alums seeking to connect with one another and with current students.

In the discussions we facilitate and opportunities we promote, we define national security broadly. We’re interested in law as it applies to counterterrorism, climate change, international finance, and cybersecurity, to name but a few of the sub-fields that fall within out ambit. And we encourage others to think broadly as well: we are always excited to expand our scope and help foster dialogue about emerging issues.

As we approach the fall semester, we are hard at work planning an exciting line-up of events designed with the limits and opportunities of remote meetings in mind.

NSLA’s only requirement for membership is subscription to our mailing list. To get involved or have any of your questions answered, please feel free to contact us. Or, just scroll down to subscribe to our mailing list. Pursuant to our constitution, we’re nonpartisan and welcome people of all backgrounds and viewpoints.

Yours in Security,

Sam Cohen & Javid Dharas
2020–2021 NSLA Co-Presidents

CONTACT FORM