Security Partnerships Teleforum Series

International & National Security Law Practice Group Teleforum Series

While protecting the security of the United States and American citizens is a primary responsibility of the national government, it is generally accepted that federal agencies and authorities cannot - neither in law nor capacity - be the sole provider of security in the modern world. As an organization of limited (if vast) authorities and means, the U.S. government must, and often does, partner with other organizations to achieve specific strategic and tactical goals. A hallmark, obvious example is wartime alliances with other nations' militaries to defeat a common enemy. World War II showed that sometimes alliances, even with otherwise unfriendly countries, are necessary to overcome an even greater, more immediate threat. Today, where national security threats often germinate from sub-national or stateless cells and asymmetric actors, partnerships take on different urgency as we work to be nimble enough to defeat (and preempt) the ever-evolving threat landscape.  

As the new Administration takes shape, this three-part Teleforum series will explore several key types of partnerships the U.S. government engages - those with foreign governments, those with state and local law enforcement, and those with the private sector. Just like the classical economic concept of comparative advantage, at each level, partners can leverage certain capabilities that the United States Government may not be able to as effectively as the partnering entity. Specifically, this series looks at what limits do or should exist in the information sharing that necessarily comes out of these partnerships, and to what extent there is a disconnect between the public representations and protests of government representatives, versus what operators perceive to be necessary to accomplish the security missions with which they are charged.

The series was organized and will be moderated by Adam Pearlman, Special Advisor to the International and National Security Law Practice Group