ISSE exists to advance the interdisciplinary study of states of exception, emergency powers, and exceptional governance. Through rigorous scholarship, comparative analysis, public engagement, and international collaboration, we seek to deepen understanding of how extraordinary powers are exercised, constrained, and ultimately returned to ordinary constitutional governance. We are committed to building an enduring body of scholarship and practical resources that strengthen democratic resilience and support the institutions that preserve constitutional government.

Our Mission

Our mission is to advance scholarship, foster informed public discourse, and strengthen understanding of exceptional governance through interdisciplinary research, comparative analysis, and global collaboration.

We bring together scholars, legal practitioners, policymakers, journalists, technologists, and national security professionals to examine how states of exception shape constitutional systems across different countries, historical periods, and legal traditions. By connecting academic research with contemporary developments, ISSE seeks to strengthen both scholarly understanding and public engagement on one of the defining constitutional questions of our time.

Our Vision

ISSE envisions a world in which exceptional powers remain faithful to their constitutional purpose: temporary, accountable, proportionate, and subject to the rule of law.

We believe that resilient democracies require more than well-designed constitutions. They depend upon informed scholarship, effective institutions, transparent public discourse, engaged citizens, and sustained international collaboration. By strengthening understanding of exceptional governance and fostering comparative learning across jurisdictions, ISSE seeks to contribute to a future in which constitutional democracies are better prepared to respond to crises without sacrificing the principles they exist to protect.

Our Principles

Scholarly Excellence

We are committed to rigorous, interdisciplinary scholarship that advances understanding of states of exception through careful research, intellectual integrity, and engagement across academic disciplines.

Institutional Independence

ISSE is an independent, nonpartisan research institute. We are committed to objective analysis grounded in evidence, comparative research, and respect for constitutional principles rather than partisan or ideological perspectives.

Comparative Perspective

Exceptional governance is a global phenomenon. We believe that meaningful understanding requires studying diverse constitutional systems, historical experiences, legal traditions, and political contexts while identifying broader patterns that transcend national boundaries.

Public Engagement

Research has its greatest value when it informs public understanding. We are committed to making complex constitutional and legal issues accessible to scholars, practitioners, policymakers, journalists, students, and engaged citizens through publications, educational resources, public programming, and multimedia initiatives.

Collaboration

The study of states of exception benefits from diverse perspectives. ISSE fosters collaboration among scholars, legal experts, historians, technologists, policy practitioners, civil society organizations, and other institutions dedicated to strengthening constitutional governance.

Constitutional Resilience

The preservation of constitutional government requires continual learning, reflection, and adaptation. Through research, analysis, education, and collaboration, ISSE seeks to strengthen the intellectual foundations that help democratic societies recognize, evaluate, and respond to exceptional exercises of power while preserving the rule of law.

Our Long-term Aspiration

ISSE aspires to establish the world’s leading interdisciplinary center for the study of emergency powers and exceptional governance.

We seek to cultivate an international community of scholars and practitioners, expand the boundaries of interdisciplinary research, develop enduring institutional resources, and advance public understanding of one of the defining constitutional challenges of the twenty-first century.

By connecting scholarship with practice and fostering collaboration across disciplines and borders, ISSE aims to strengthen the global ecosystem of institutions, researchers, and professionals working to preserve constitutional governance, democratic accountability, and the rule of law during times of crisis.