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.
3,366 Articles
What Hegseth’s “Supply Chain Risk” Designation of Anthropic Does and Doesn’t Mean
Abuse of a tailored national security authority to resolve an ideological dispute playing out over DoD’s desire to change its contractual terms should not be taken lightly.
“Significantly Diminished”: Commenting Anew on Article 23 of Geneva Convention IV in a Transformed Legal Context
New Commentary on GC IV describes Article 23—the treaty’s key provision governing the duty to allow the passage of essentials to civilians—as "significantly diminished" today.
The Trump Administration’s Theory of Constitutional War Powers: “The President Could Decide”
The legal memo justifying its Venezuela operations provides insight into the administration's use-of-force decisions and the factual evidence undergirding them.
International Reactions to Military Strikes on Iran: A Tipping Point for the UN Charter?
Positions taken at the UN Security Council are a harbinger of whether the legal cornerstone of the international order that is designed to maintain world peace can hold.
Toward A Just and Lawful Peace in Ukraine: Part II
As the war in Ukraine continues to unfold, international lawyers must keep insisting that law be injected into diplomacy and accountability into power politics.
What Just Happened: Tariffs Are Gone and Then Back Again
The SCOTUS decision on Trump's tariffs, and the president’s subsequent reaction, leave many questions about tariff rates and what comes next.
FBI’s “Stand Down” Directive to NYPD on Jeffrey Epstein Investigations, and More
The most comprehensive timeline to date of the publicly available record on New York law enforcement authorities’ action and inaction with regard to Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell…
Closing Loopholes Across Time: the ICRC’s New Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention
The ICRC's updated Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention fills a loophole-closing function and reasserts international humanitarian law's core protective purpose.
ICE Administrative Warrants and the Fourth Amendment: A Response to the DHS General Counsel
DHS says ICE agents can enter homes to arrest noncitizens using administrative warrants, without judicial oversight. DHS's position has no legal basis.
Toward A Just and Lawful Peace in Ukraine: Part I
A review of what law and lawyers have contributed toward the goal of a just and lawful peace in Ukraine over the past four years.
What the Current Crises Facing Iran Mean for Human Rights and Rules on the Use of Force
The human rights crisis in Iran reveals the limits of a legal system designed to restrain force even when restraint carries profound human costs.
The Army Clause: A Forgotten Constitutional Check on ICE, CBP, and the Pentagon
Why the One Big Beautiful Bill violates a forgotten constitutional check on funding standing armies and how Congress can enforce it now.