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.

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3,333 Articles

Surveying Evidence of How Trump’s Actions Activated Jan. 6 Rioters

A triangulation of evidence that extremists treated then-President Trump's words as instructions for the events on Jan. 6.
Members of Lebanon's election monitoring association survey the voting process through screens at the foreign ministry in Beirut on May 6, 2022. - Lebanese expatriates cast their votes for parliamentary elections, two years into an unprecedented economic crisis that spurred a mass exodus. It is the second time in the country's history that citizens residing abroad are able to vote for their 128 representatives, in elections set to be held at home on May 15. Expatriates began voting at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) Beirut time on Friday in nine Arab countries and in Iran, while the rest will vote in 48 other countries on Sunday. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

In Lebanon, Elections Bring Cautious Hope – and an Uphill Battle for Reforms

Weakened incumbents and diaspora voting could allow the country to change direction after years of graft, mismanagement, and democratic decline.
A Palestinian woman shows her ink-stained finger as she casts her ballot while voting in the Palestinian local elections in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on March 26, 2022.

Internal Palestinian Divisions and Their Consequences

Recent municipal elections reinforced the political marginalization of already frustrated younger Palestinians.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 07, 2021: Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., stand after reading the final certification of Electoral College votes cast in the November 2020 presidential election during a joint session of Congress, after working through the night, at the Capitol on January 7, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress reconvened to ratify President-elect Joe Biden's 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump, hours after a pro-Trump mob broke into the U.S. Capitol and disrupted proceedings. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite - Pool/Getty Images)

Trump’s Next Presidential Coup Attempt Could Work

Flawed laws, enacted in 1845 and 1887, create a dangerous opportunity.

US, EU Face Higher Hurdles Now for Action Against Orbán’s Tightening Grip in Hungary

His landslide re-election and Russia's war on Ukraine makes pushback on the region's autocratization harder -- and more needed -- than ever.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a hearing before Senate Judiciary Committee at Hart Senate Office Building on March 2, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. He speaks into a microphone and gestures with a hand.

Facebook Provided Warning to FBI Before January 6, GAO Report Reveals

The GAO report's findings raise questions about statements by FBI Director Christopher Wray in previous testimony to Congress.
A man carries a banner during a demonstration at Ojota in Lagos on June 12, 2021, as Nigerian activists called for nationwide protests over what they criticise as bad governance and insecurity, as well as the recent ban of US social media platform Twitter by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. - Hundreds of protesters gathered on June 12, 2021 in Lagos, a sprawling megapolis of over 20 million people, and police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP) (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images)

What Elon Musk Does Not Get about Twitter and Democracy in Africa

Deferring to local laws to determine the bounds of free speech on Twitter - and Musk has suggested doing - would jeopardize hard-won democratic freedoms in Africa.

How Cambodia’s Human Rights Crackdown Undermines Regional Security

The upcoming White House summit with ASEAN offers a chance for the US to press on human rights abuses and costly alliances with China.
Workers of El Universo newspaper march carrying a mock coffin in protest towards the government palace in Quito on February 17, 2012, after Ecuador's National Court of Justice (CNJ) confirmed a lower court ruling that sentenced three top El Universo executives and a former opinion page editor Emilio Palacio Urrutia to three years in prison. The lower court awarded President Rafael Correa $40 million in damages. (Photo by CAMILO PAREJA/AFP via Getty Images)

The Beginning of the End for Criminal Defamation in the Americas? The El Universo Case

The judgment strengthens media freedom by repudiating a historic legal tool to stifle dissent and flagging the need for legislative measures.
Workers of El Universo newspaper march carrying a mock coffin in protest towards the government palace in Quito on February 17, 2012, after Ecuador's National Court of Justice (CNJ) confirmed a lower court ruling that sentenced three top El Universo executives and a former opinion page editor Emilio Palacio Urrutia to three years in prison. The lower court awarded President Rafael Correa $40 million in damages. (Photo by CAMILO PAREJA/AFP via Getty Images)

¿El principio del fin de la difamación penal en las Américas? El caso de El Universo

El fallo del Tribunal es verdaderamente importante para la libertad de los medios de comunicación de la región.
Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora arrives at the Coburg Palace, venue of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) meeting.

To Check Iran’s Missiles, JCPOA Re-Entry is a Must

Iran’s missile program is a cause for international concern. Just last month, Iran launched a missile attack on Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region; in January 2020,…
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Still at War: The United States in Syria

It is time to reconsider U.S. strategic objectives in Syria and the legal basis for the use of force there.
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