2026 National Security & Separation of Powers Summer Program

The National Security Institute (NSI) at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School hosted its ninth annual summer program abroad—this year in Prague, Czechia—with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch. Twenty-five Scalia Law students, selected through a highly competitive process, had the opportunity to learn about the historical roots and the modern application of the constitutional separation of powers in the national security context in two graded courses.

Courses:

• Separation of Powers—Taught by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch
• Interbranch Conflicts in National Security: War, Intelligence, and Negotiations—Taught by Scalia Law Professor Jamil N. Jaffer

In addition to studying the constitutional separation of powers in one of Europe’s most historic cities, students were connected with a number of distinguished guest speakers who led afternoon sessions and informal discussions with participants. Guests included:

• Judge Neomi Rao, United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• Judge Andrew Oldham, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• John Demers, Former Assistant Attorney General for National Security, U.S. Department of Justice
• Brett Gerry, Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President, Boeing & Former Chief of Staff to the Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
• Aparna Sridhar, Deputy General Counsel, Anthropic & Former Law Clerk to Judge M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

While academics are the top priority within the NSI Summer Program, students also had the opportunity to learn about Prague’s history, including its suffering under Nazi oppression during World War II and Soviet oppression during the Cold War, through activities including a walking tour of the city and an interactive tour of the Czech Parliament. Between classes, the afternoon sessions with guests, and the historical experiences, students had the opportunity to both learn from real practitioners in the field and to expand their professional development experiences beyond the classroom as well.