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.
3,152 Articles
Former DHS and Defense Dept Spokesperson: Trump’s Response to Civil Unrest in Portland is Damaging to Our Government and Our Democracy
President Trump's first spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security writes about the federal forces in Portland.
What Durham Is Investigating and Why It Poses a Danger to US Intelligence Analysis
A deep dive into Bill Barr and U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation and the potential costs entailed.
National Security at the United Nations This Week (July 17-24)
(Editor’s Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…
Cyberattack Attribution and International Law
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment accusing two men linked to China’s Ministry of State Security of a decade-long campaign of hacking dissidents,…
The President’s Private Army
How did we get here? Goitein discusses legal and political obstacles that faced President Trump's resort to other federal forces, why DHS is now his weapon of choice, what it may…
The Short Fuse: Autocrats, Hate Speech and Political Violence
“When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” It took three and a half years into his presidency, but Twitter finally flagged one of President Donald Trump’s tweets as…
Bill Barr’s Playbook: His False Claims About Prior Military Force on U.S. Soil
The Insurrection Act, Operation Hawkeye and what really happened
Portland’s Pretext: Barr’s Long History Manipulating Law to Put Federal Forces on U.S. Streets
In a 2001 interview, Bill Barr boasted that he came up with the idea in 1989.
The Life and Adventures of Ron Johnson: His Journey Through “Multiple Untruths” to the Fable of Obamagate
The Lugar Center is a fairly recent addition of the sort of traditional institute in Washington that prevailed before Donald Trump. Its mission is to advance an internationalist…
The Surprising Convergence Between Neo-Nazis and Jihadis
From a military base in Europe in May, U.S. Army Private Ethan Melzer typed out a series of encrypted messages offering support to the Order of Nine Angels (O9A), a neo-Nazi group,…
Transitional Justice in the United States
Transitional justice provides an important lens for ongoing national conversations in the United States about police brutality and racial injustice. Transitional justice asks us…
Vehicle Ramming: The Evolution of a Terrorist Tactic Inside the US
In the United States, white supremacists and other emergent types of terrorists are using vehicle ramming with an increased enthusiasm.