Linda S Bishai

Dr. Bishai joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) in April 2020, with twenty years of experience in teaching, training, and writing on international law, identity and conflict, security sector governance, and preventing/countering violent extremism.

Current work includes military justice reform, international legal norms for space, and the ethical, legal, and social implications of the military use of AI.

In her previous positions at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Bishai designed and delivered workshops on teaching human rights in Iraq, civic education and violence prevention in Sudan, women’s roles in preventing violent extremism in Nigeria and Kenya, and developing effective responses to radicalization and violent extremism in Kosovo.

As Director of Research, Evaluation, and Learning at the ABA Rule of Law Initiative, Bishai oversaw the activities of a team of legal researchers and monitoring & evaluation professionals working to promote the rule of law by supporting judges and lawyers in partner nations.

Her recently edited volume on Law, Security and the State of Perpetual Emergency explores the blurring of law enforcement and defense activities in the counter-terrorism context. Bishai holds a B.A. in history and literature from Harvard University, a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics.