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.

Democratic Backsliding & Solutions Elections Rule of Law

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(L-R) Germany's Social Democratic SPD outgoing party co-leader Norbert Walter-Borjans, designated German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, parliamentary group leader of Germany's social democratic SPD party Rolf Muetzenich, Germany's Social Democratic SPD party co-leader Saskia Esken, co-leader of Germany's The Greens (Die Gruenen) party and designated Minister for Economy and Climate Robert Habeck, Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader and designated Finance Minister Christian Lindner, parliamentary group co-leader of Germany's The Greens (Die Gruenen) party Katrin Goering-Eckardt (hidden), Federal Party Secretary of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and designated Transport Minister Volker Wissing, co-leader of Germany's The Greens (Die Gruenen) party and designated Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and parliamentary group co-leader of Germany's The Greens (Die Gruenen) party Anton Hofreiter pose on stage after a signing ceremony in Berlin on December 7, 2021, where leading members of Germany's social democratic SPD party, the Greens and the free democratic FDP party sealed their coalition deal to form a new government. Olaf Scholz led his Social Democrats to victory against Angela Merkel's conservative CDU-CSU bloc in an landmark election in September 2021, as the veteran chancellor prepared to leave politics after four consecutive terms in office. (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)

How Germany’s New Government Might Pursue Its “Values-Based” Foreign Policy in Europe

It aims to show that sticking to principles on the one hand and seeking constructive dialogue on the other are not mutually exclusive.

Dec. 22, 2021 Dominik Tolksdorf

Members of the DC National Guard are deployed outside of the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021. The troops are in formation with the words "DC National Guard" written clearly on the back of their bullet proof vests. It's nighttime.

Crisis of Command: The Pentagon, The President, and January 6

Pentagon restrained National Guard on Jan. 6 out of concern Trump would invoke Insurrection Act.

Dec. 21, 2021 Ryan Goodman and Justin Hendrix

Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-MS,flanked by other members of Congress, speaks to the media following testimony during the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol adjourned their first hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 27, 2021. - The committee heard testimony from members of the US Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department who tried to protect the Capitol against insurrectionists on January 6, 2021. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

How Stalling Tactics Could Still Constrain the January 6 Committee

Without a greater sense of urgency in the Jan. 6 investigation, it risks failing like every other effort to hold Trump accountable.

Dec. 20, 2021 Ambassador P. Michael McKinley (ret.)

Digital fingerprint, conceptual computer illustration.

The Use of Biometric Technologies for Counter-terrorism Purposes in a Human Rights Vacuum

CTED's "best practices" on biometrics miss a key dimension: international human rights law guidance.

Dec. 20, 2021 Tomaso Falchetta

Behind what appears to be a makeshift fence, a woman carries a sack of grain on her head as she stops to buy some local pastries at a roadside stall in Wau, South Sudan, on February 1, 2020. About 13,000 civilians were sheltered there under UN protection adjacent to the field office of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), just outside Wau town. They had fled massacres and burnings of villages during a ruinous six-year conflict between forces loyal to the government of South Sudan President Salva Kiir and those of his political rival, former Vice President Riek Machar. A string of failed truces and hollow promises has spawned distrust in the two rival leaders now facing intense pressure to uphold a permanent peace agreement. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)

In South Sudan, Keep UN Peacekeepers Focused on Evolving Risks for Civilians

The transfer of "protection of civilian" sites to the government amid continuing threats requires extra vigilance from UNMISS.

Dec. 17, 2021 Lauren Spink

Paper silhouettes of faces overlap one another. All except one are various shades of light grey. The one exception is in red and includes a whistle in the face’s mouth.

SSCI Could Shake Up the Intelligence Community’s Whistleblowing System

Implementing SSCI reforms is crucial for building a whistleblowing system that intelligence workers can trust.

Dec. 17, 2021 Irvin McCullough and Kel McClanahan

Expert Explainer: On Verizon’s Deadline for Turning Over Meadows’ Records to Congress

Former General Counsel of Verizon discusses why Meadows' lawsuit will stop the clock on Verizon turning over data to Congress--even though Meadows' lawyer failed to name company…

Dec. 16, 2021 Ryan Goodman and Randal S. Milch

Stepan Putilo, founder of internet channel Nexta, speaks on a cell phone at the Belarusian House Foundation in Warsaw, Poland, on May 26, 2021. NEXTA, a Telegram channel with 2.1 million subscribers, provides news and information and shares photo and video content from demonstrations in Belarus. Putilo was a close associate of jailed journalist Roman Protasevich, an exiled Belarusian journalist arrested by the Belarus government when it diverted a European plane on May 23, 2021, and forced it to land in Minsk and removed him from the plane. (Photo by WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Exiled Journalists Need Support, Not Autocrat-Fueled Skepticism

Western donors, civil society, and media partners need to update their views of those who've fled repression.

Dec. 15, 2021 Alexander Cooley and Tatyana Margolin

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 13: In this screenshot taken from a congress.gov webcast, the articles of impeachment are read on the floor ahead of the vote on the fifth day of former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial at the U.S. Capitol on February 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. House impeachment managers had argued that Trump was “singularly responsible” for the January 6th attack at the U.S. Capitol and he should be convicted and barred from ever holding public office again. (Photo by congress.gov via Getty Images)

Don’t Fire the (Senate) Umpire

The Senate Parliamentarian's ruling on immigration reform should not be disregarded because it would undermine the rule of law.

Dec. 13, 2021 Ronald Weich

The outside columns and relief of the US Treasury Department building in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2019.

Sanctions and Corruption: Assessing Risk to Improve Design

Increased corruption is a common unintended consequences of sanctions. Alongside considering humanitarian consequences, the U.S. should account for corruption risks, and ways to…

Dec. 13, 2021 Jill Jermano

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to representatives of more than 100 countries, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on, during a virtual democracy summit at the White House in Washington DC on December 9, 2021. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden’s `Initiative for Democratic Renewal’ — Analysis from Diplomats, Top Experts

The $424.4 million plan focuses on media, corruption, reformers, technology, and political processes like elections.

Dec. 10, 2021 Viola Gienger

MIAMI, FLORIDA - JUNE 07: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis arrives for a bill signing ceremony at the Florida National Guard Robert A. Ballard Armory on June 07, 2021 in Miami, Florida. The governor signed the bills to combat foreign influence and corporate espionage in Florida from governments like China. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Reestablishing Florida’s State Guard Won’t Give DeSantis a Private Army Free of Federal Control

While Florida Gov. DeSantis' proposal is worrisome as a political matter, it is unlikely to pose the kind of threat his critics fear.

Dec. 9, 2021 Joseph Nunn

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