Democracy & Rule of Law
Just Security’s expert authors provide analysis on threats and challenges to democracy and the rule of law in the United States and globally. Coverage includes analysis of the separation of powers, good governance, democratic backsliding, authoritarianism, judicial independence, freedom of the press and association, and accountability for rule of law violations.
Highlights:
The Trump Administration’s Use of State Power Against Media: Keeping Track of the Big Picture
Tracking the use of State power requires systematically identifying linkages between individual developments and broader trends. This interactive graphic offers one method.
History and International Law Proscribe Amnesties for Russian War Crimes
Compromising on prosecutions for Russian atrocities would erode the system of international justice built since Nuremberg and undermine the rule of law itself.
Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers
Collection of expert analysis on the legality of the U.S. strike on Venezuelan vessels in the Caribbean, the consequences of the strike, and related issues.
Timeline of Vessel Strikes and Related Actions
A timeline that chronicles major events in the Trump administration’s campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
Expert Q&A on the U.S. Boat Strikes
An expert Q&A on the Trump administration's lethal strikes against suspected drug trafficking boats on the high seas.
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3,177 Articles
The Anti-Corruption Tracker: Mapping the Erosion of Oversight and Accountability
This Anti-Corruption Tracker focuses on the erosion or dismantling of oversight and accountability systems within the United States Executive Branch.
Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
A public resource tracking all the legal challenges to the Trump administration's executive orders and actions.
Global Corruption, Local Hypocrisy: The Promises and Pitfalls of the U.S. Combating Global Corruption Act
The Combating Global Corruption Act presents an imperfect but useful opportunity to rebuild the U.S. government’s anti-corruption practices.
The (Flimsy) Legal Arguments Used to Justify Art Censorship
Liability fears are increasingly weaponized to justify removal of socially engaged art. Treating display as endorsement is legally wrong and culturally corrosive censorship.
When Loyalties Shift: Americans’ Growing Noncooperation with Federal Abuses of Power
Americans' refusals to accept apparent abuses of power by the federal government indicate that the political winds may be starting to shift.
The Global Retreat from Content Moderation Is Endangering Free Expression: Kenya Shows Why
By abandoning proactive content moderation, platforms are accelerating a global slide toward censorship — the very outcome they claim to oppose.
The Just Security Podcast: Is there a Fox in the Henhouse? A Comparative Perspective of State Capture in the U.S.
Dani Schulkin is joined by Naomi Roht-Arriaza to discuss the warning signs of state capture and grand corruption, and what can be done to push back against it.
Persecuting the Prosecutors: Israel’s Military Lawyers Under Pressure
The weakening of the Military Advocate General affects the IDF's ability to carry out its missions lawfully, and the broader protection of the rule of law in Israel.
How to End the Shadow Budget and Protect Congress’s Power of the Purse
Unless Congress reasserts control over federal spending, the balance the framers designed could collapse into a self-financing presidency.
Just Security’s Russia–Ukraine War Archive
A catalog of over 100 articles (many with Ukrainian translations) on the Russia Ukraine War -- law, diplomacy, policy options, and more.
The “Presumption of Regularity” in Trump Administration Litigation
A comprehensive study of court cases involving the Trump administration from January 20, 2025 to present
Normalizing Far-Right Ideologies in the Western Balkans: Croatia’s Role at Home and Abroad
The Croatian government appears to be embracing far-right actions at home and abroad as it undermines neighboring Bosnia's sovereignty and democracy.