Scott R. Anderson is a Visiting Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he was previously a David M. Rubenstein Fellow. He is also a Senior Editor and Counsel for Lawfare and a Senior Fellow with the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School.
A former U.S. diplomat and government attorney, Mr. Anderson is an expert in foreign relations law, international law, and national security law and policy, particularly as they relate to the Middle East region. In addition to being a regular contributor to Lawfare and the Lawfare podcast, he has written on related issues for numerous publications, including Defense One, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Texas National Security Review, The Hill, and The Washington Post. He has appeared on a range of national and international television and radio broadcasts, including Al Jazeera English, BBC, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and NPR, and his analysis and commentary have frequently been cited in the print media, including by the Associated Press, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. He has been a policy advisor for national political campaigns and has served as a consultant and expert witness in litigation matters. In addition, he has taught at both the Georgetown University Law Center and Columbia Law School.
Mr. Anderson previously served as an attorney-adviser for the U.S. Department of State and as the legal adviser for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. In these capacities, he advised policymakers on domestic and international legal issues relating to U.S. foreign and national security policy, most often in relation to the Middle East and North Africa. At various times, his portfolio included bilateral relations with Iraq, counter-Islamic State efforts in Iraq and Syria, diplomatic and sovereign immunity issues, the Persian Gulf region, select matters relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, terrorism-related civil litigation, U.S. and international economic sanctions, and the Yemen conflict. He also helped to represent the Department in a number of litigation and international arbitration matters, including matters before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Between his government service and joining the Brookings Institution, Mr. Anderson was a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and an International Affairs Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, in which capacity he was in residence at Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Yale Law School and resides with his family in Washington, D.C.
Scott R. Anderson is a Visiting Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he was previously a David M. Rubenstein Fellow. He is also a Senior Editor and Counsel for Lawfare and a Senior Fellow with the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School.
A former U.S. diplomat and government attorney, Mr. Anderson is an expert in foreign relations law, international law, and national security law and policy, particularly as they relate to the Middle East region. In addition to being a regular contributor to Lawfare and the Lawfare podcast, he has written on related issues for numerous publications, including Defense One, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Texas National Security Review, The Hill, and The Washington Post. He has appeared on a range of national and international television and radio broadcasts, including Al Jazeera English, BBC, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and NPR, and his analysis and commentary have frequently been cited in the print media, including by the Associated Press, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. He has been a policy advisor for national political campaigns and has served as a consultant and expert witness in litigation matters. In addition, he has taught at both the Georgetown University Law Center and Columbia Law School.
Mr. Anderson previously served as an attorney-adviser for the U.S. Department of State and as the legal adviser for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. In these capacities, he advised policymakers on domestic and international legal issues relating to U.S. foreign and national security policy, most often in relation to the Middle East and North Africa. At various times, his portfolio included bilateral relations with Iraq, counter-Islamic State efforts in Iraq and Syria, diplomatic and sovereign immunity issues, the Persian Gulf region, select matters relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, terrorism-related civil litigation, U.S. and international economic sanctions, and the Yemen conflict. He also helped to represent the Department in a number of litigation and international arbitration matters, including matters before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Between his government service and joining the Brookings Institution, Mr. Anderson was a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and an International Affairs Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, in which capacity he was in residence at Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Yale Law School and resides with his family in Washington, D.C.
"The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the authority to call forth the militia to suppress domestic unrest. Particularly in situations where the state legislature has not requested that sort of federal support, it's not clear that the federal government has an obligation to intervene in any way except where Congress thinks it's appropriate."
On the legal basis behind the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani: "We've seen the executive branch make gradually broader and broader assertions of authority to use military force, not necessarily in ways that are clearly prohibited by the text, but in ways that many people find stretch their meaning or least push into new terrain."
"Over the last several decades, we've seen several presidential administrations assert slightly growing [claims] of executive power and the ability to use military force in a variety of circumstances."
