Civil Liberties
1,361 Articles
Assessing the Government’s Lawsuit Against John Bolton [UPDATED after Wednesday’s filing of a TRO motion]
An explainer about some common misconceptions, and how the litigation will likely play out.
Black Lives Matter Might Just Rescue American Democracy
The movement forces Americans to recognize and confront the deep and longstanding connection between racist and authoritarian violence.
The Strength of America’s Apolitical Military
A statement by former U.S. ambassadors, Generals and Admirals, senior officials on the response to nationwide protests for racial justice.
International Standards Regarding the Handling of Demonstrations
Just as much as nauseating scenes of excessive use of force by the police captured by media and citizens’ smartphones fly in the face of the protections that should be afforded…
What Does the Constitutional Right of Assembly Protect? What Counts as “Peaceable”? And Who Should Decide?
Municipal rules governing access to public space and existing criminal law significantly circumscribe protestors’ expressive freedom, especially their right to be disruptive.
Standing, Not-Standing with the Protesters: U.S. Policy on Hong Kong and BLM
... the PRC’s own hypocrisy is no reason to abandon Hong Kong. But if the U.S. government seeks to play a constructive role, it needs to check off certain items. First and foremost,…
The United States’ Racial Justice Problem Is Also an International Human Rights Law Problem
An essay by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Professor E. Tendayi Achiume.
Ignore Trump’s Twitter Tantrum Executive Order and Address Disinformation Instead
The solution is not to give government or platforms more power to make opaque, arbitrary decisions on content, but to help users protect themselves.
If We Could See Ourselves from the Outside
Can a change of perspective dislodge the assumed inevitability of an enduring democracy?
The U.S. Constitution and Limits on Detention and Use of Force in Handling Civil Unrest
Under what circumstances may the government use lethal and non- or lesser-lethal force in the face of unlawful protests, riots, and looting?
White Supremacist Infiltration of US Police Forces: Fact-Checking National Security Advisor O’Brien
What the available research says about systemic discrimination in law enforcement as well as links to racist and white supremacist ideology.
Far-Right Infiltrators and Agitators in George Floyd Protests: Indicators of White Supremacists
Evidence points to specific White Supremacist and far-right groups having infiltrated George Floyd protests, writes scholar of violent extremism, Georgia State University professor…