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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3,398 Articles
A person takes a picture of the tribute display full of photographs, candles and flowers outside the Belarus embassy in Kiev on August 3, 2021, in memory of Vitaly Shishov, the head the Belarusian House in Ukraine, an NGO, who was found early morning hanged in a park, near the Kiev.

How to Put Lukashenka in His Place

Continued violence by the Belarus strongman against dissidents and opponents demands a forceful response from the West.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco speaks at the launch of the Justice Department's "five cross-jurisdictional trafficking strike forces" to staff from Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the Department of Justice at the ATF in Washington, DC, on 22 July, 2021.

Now the Important Part: Implementing DOJ’s Task Force on Election Worker Threats

"Having anything close to one-third of election workers fearing for their safety is simply unsustainable."
Insurrectionists at the US Capitol Building on January 6th. Many carry American flags.

Where Was DOJ? Senior Army Officials Describe Costs in Absence of Lead Agency on Jan. 6

Senior U.S. Army officials described costs in absence of lead agency on Jan. 6.
US President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media standing outside an airplane at Heathrow, west of London, on June 13, 2021.

Don’t Let the Autocrats Win – How Biden Can Use the Democracy Summit to Build Back Media Freedoms

Autocracy is on the march, but Clooney presents a toolkit with four specific devices to help protect press freedom around the world.
A students carries bags and luggage across the main gate as they leave as directed by authorities of the University of Lagos to halt the spread of Covid-19 on Campus in Yaba, Lagos, on July 15, 2021. Some students wear masks.

Living with Two Pandemics: COVID-19 Amid Insecurity in Nigeria

Vaccinations remain in single digits, even as multiple types of violence spread. Yet international aid stands at 20 percent of the need.
A public school and playground stands empty behind a closed gate on the Upper East Side on August 07, 2020 in the Manhattan borough of New York City.

From Suppressing the Tulsa Race Massacre to Critical Race Theory: The Privilege and Costs of Whitewashing History

(Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Just Security series that began in the runup to the hundredth anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre this year.)  In the past few months,…
The Capitol Building behind barbed wire in January 2021.

Unpacking the DOJ Letters: No “Executive Privilege” for Trump-Era Witnesses on 2020 Election Machinations

The determination clears the way for more evidence, testimony to congressional committees, including on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Secretary-General António Guterres and Volkan Bozkir, President of the seventy-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly, speak to each other at the front of the hall ahead of the start of the General Assembly high-level meeting to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations. People begin to fill in seats.

What the Review of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Tells Us About How Far We Have Come Since 9/11

The seventh review resolution shows both the progress that has been made since 2001 and reveals the many challenges that still lay ahead.
US President Joe Biden speaks prior to signing H.R. 1652, the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021, which redirects monetary penalties to increase funding for victim compensation funds, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, July 22, 2021.

Questioning the “Domestic” and “International” in Biden’s Counterterrorism Strategy

How does the categorization of Muslim threats as presumptively “international" subject them to unaccountable security practices and deprivations of rights?
The dome of the U.S. Capitol Buidling and the US flag.

Questions the January 6 Select Committee Should Ask Its Witnesses

Dozens of specific questions for the Select Committee to ask, for witnesses to address even if not asked, for journalists to investigate, for the public to use as benchmarks, for…

Jan 6 Select Committee and Social Media Companies: 10 Key Pieces of Information to Subpoena

The Select Committee should request—better yet, subpoena—the following information from social media companies including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Parler, and TikTok.
Mo Brooks talks at a podium with the sign “Save America.” He wears a hat that reads, “Fire Pelosi.” American flags stand on either side of him.

Expert Backgrounder: The Westfall Act and Representative Brooks’s Speech

Professor Paul Figley, who served as Deputy Director in Torts Branch of Justice Department's Civil Division for fifteen years, explains the legal framework for Swalwell v. Brooks,…
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