Label First, Evidence Later: Terrorism Designations, Venezuela, and Trump’s War on ‘Antifa’

The Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs J-Term Speaker Series presents “Label First, Evidence Later: Terrorism Designations, Venezuela, and Trump’s War on ‘Antifa’” with Jason Blazakis.

This talk explores how the label “terrorist” is made—and weaponized. Professor Blazakis directed efforts related to the crafting of the “terrorist list” for more than a decade as head of the office that sanctioned terrorists pursuant to various legal authorities of the Secretary of State. He will unpack how terrorist designations are created in law and practice: who makes these decisions, what evidentiary standards are (supposed to be) applied, and how listings are an important tool of economic warfare and now, during the Trump Administration, domestic politics. From there, Professor Blazakis will examine how the Trump administration pushed this tool in controversial new directions, including efforts to label foreign drug cartels as terrorists, moves that intersected with U.S. policy toward Venezuela, and rhetoric about treating “Antifa” as a terrorist organization. 

Jason Blazakis is a Professor of the Practice at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and Director of the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism.

The Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs J-Term Speaker Series features Middlebury College winter term faculty examining some of the most challenging issues in their areas of expertise. For more information, visit here.