Call for Papers – National Security Law “New Voices” Panel

The Section on National Security Law invites submissions for the Section’s “National Security Law ‘New Voices’ Panel to be held at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in New Orleans. We seek papers and works-in-progress on any aspect of national security law. We encourage submissions that conceive “national security law” broadly, extending its range of coverage to include both traditional concerns and emerging or imagined ones. Selected papers will be presented during a panel discussion at the annual meeting.

Eligibility

Submissions are warmly welcomed from all full-time faculty members from AALS member schools, including fellows and VAPs. There is no limit linked to tenure or number of years teaching, but (in keeping with the title of the panel) an emphasis is placed on those without extensive teaching or scholarship experience in the national security law space. The Section encourages submissions from faculty members who diversify the legal academy in various ways, including demographic, geographic, viewpoint, seniority and school type diversity. The Section welcomes both single- and co-authored submissions, but only one submission per author is permitted.

Submission Information

Interested faculty should submit an abstract no longer than 500 words via e-mail to the Section Chair, Professor Rachel VanLandingham at rvanlandingham@swlaw.edu no later than 5:00 PM PST on Wednesday, October 1, 2025. Please indicate “National Security Law ‘New Voices’ Panel – 2026 AALS Annual Meeting” in the subject line of your e-mail. Abstracts should include your name and institutional affiliation and note the state of the project (e.g. early formative stage, researched but undrafted, first draft complete, etc.). Abstracts may be supplemented by a brief statement expressing how your participation will diversify the panel discussion.

Review Process / Panel Format

A committee of members of the Section’s Executive Committee appointed by the Chair will review submissions and select participants. The Section is committed to adhering to all AALS policies in its selection process. Authors of selected works will be notified by mid-October and should plan to submit a draft by December 15, 2025 to allow for a thoughtful exchange of ideas and feedback from the discussants, who will be members of the Section. Discussants will take the lead role in the panel to briefly outline the work, provide constructive feedback, and lead group discussion.

Publication / Expenses

The Section does not intend to publish selected papers. Presenters are expected to pay registration fees, accommodation and travel expenses. For further inquiries please contact the Chair, as noted above, or the Chair-elect, Professor Jeff Kahn, at jkahn@american.edu.