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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3,152 Articles
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Absentee Voting, the Military, and Our Democracy

States need significant additional federal funds to effectively implement voting by mail.
Trump and Chad Wolf speak to members of border control on August 18, 2020. Neither wear face masks.

Whistleblower: DHS Suppressed Reports on Central America and Inflated Risk of Terrorist Border-Crossers

Brian Murphy’s Whistleblower complaint confirms: White House officials and political appointees in federal agencies hid carefully investigated and proven facts and substituted…
William Barr (unmasked) listens to Donald Trump (unmasked) speak on September 1, 2020, at Mary D. Bradford High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Police in the background wear masks.

Dannehy Resignation Confirms Barr’s Intent to Use Durham Probe for Political Ends

Nora Dannehy's involvement in the Justice Department's Russia probe, being led by U.S. Attorney John Durham, gave the endeavor a veneer of legitimacy. Now, that is now gone.
A member of the Afghan Air Force 777 Special Mission Wing looks out of an Mi-17 helicopter during a training mission on September 13, 2017 outside of Kabul, Afghanistan.

Toward a New Approach to National and Human Security: End Endless War

For nearly 20 years, successive U.S. administrations have adopted a costly war-based approach to national security and counterterrorism policy that has no clear endgame in sight.…
Trump and Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales at the South Portico of the White House on December 17, 2019 in Washington, DC.

The Disturbing Links in Trump’s Transactional Foreign Policy: A New Post-Mortem on Guatemala’s Impunity Commission

It’s a riveting — if demoralizing — quid pro quo story, and proof positive of the way corruption begets corruption and autocrats find solace in each other.
President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi addresses the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2018 in New York City.

Egypt’s Agenda for Reshaping the UN on Counterterrrorism

The draconian prosecution, trial and sentencing of Bahey eldin Hassan helps Egypt delegitimize human rights as central to counterterrorism.
Querdenker Q buttons lie in a bin for sale next to copies of the right-wing magazine Compact at a gathering of coronavirus skeptics on the eve of a planned protest march on August 28, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.

QAnon is a Nazi Cult, Rebranded

"I have studied and worked to prevent genocide for forty years..."
U.S. Army soldiers work fortifying the US-Mexico border fence with barbed wire on November 26, 2018 in Mexicali, Mexico.

DOD Inspector General’s Report Whitewashes Potential Violations of the Posse Comitatus Act

In finding no violation of Posse Comitatus Act, the IG misinterprets federal law and exaggerates the power of DOD policy — creating a dangerous precedent for the domestic use…
A branch of Alfa Bank stands in the city center on October 03, 2019 in Kiev, Ukraine.

The Trump-Alfa Bank Server Mystery Resurfaces

The recent release of the final volume of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on Russian 2016 election interference and two new lawsuits by Russia’s Alfa Bank have brought…
A flower in the street placed by demonstrators revisiting the site where a protester was killed on August 26, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

We Need a Task Force on Political Violence in America

A Task Force on Political Violence could potentially help the U.S. government be more prepared for the rising possibility of violence and its impact.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) holds a joint news conference on the International Criminal Court with US Attorney General William Barr, at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 11, 2020.

The Int’l Criminal Court Executive Order: Global Reactions Compiled

With the Trump administration poised to issue sanctions under its new executive order aimed at the ICC, Beth Van Schaack gathers key global reactions to the order and identifies…
The central bank of the Democratic Republic of Congo on May 22, 2016 in Lubumbashi.

Shoring up Sanctions Enforcement in Sub-Saharan Africa: A North Korea Case Study

Helping countries bolster regulatory systems for national security could also build a more sound international financial system overall.
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