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.
3,333 Articles
MLK Believed “No Justice, No Peace”
Arguments that the protests over the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others betray King’s legacy are not only in bad faith, but plainly wrong.
Incitement to Violence Ain’t Free Speech
The First Amendment protects abstract appeals for illegal actions. But there can and should be criminal liability for speech that incites the likely and imminent risk of violence.…
History Shows the Senate Can Hold an Impeachment Trial After Trump Leaves Office
The suggestion that impeachment applies only when officials are in office is not consistent with the uniform practice of impeachments in US history.
Struggles of American Democracy and Implications for Human Intelligence
Despite our democracy’s recent struggles, and perhaps even enhanced by them, America's soft-power advantage is as true now as ever.
Ousted Autocratic Presidents and Their Backers in the Legislative Branch
Machinations of hardliners from Sri Lanka to Hungary, Colombia and more signal the trouble Trump and his supporters could make for the Biden administration.
A New Assault on a Democratic Citadel in Turkey, Too
A week before the Jan. 6 US Capitol attack, Turkey's president waged another kind of assault on one of his country’s last bastions of democratic thought.
Lessons from Benghazi: Accountability for the U.S. Capitol Attack
Just like after that attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, there must be accountability for the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Accountability for the failure of law enforcement…
Impeachment Defense, the Constitution, and Bill of Rights
The question at the moment isn’t whether the president could be charged with incitement to violence in criminal court.
Military Personnel and the Putsch at the U.S. Capitol
If active duty, reserve, retired, or former military personnel participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, how should they be held accountable? Courts martial may be available for…
Responding to the Capitol Attack: Accountability Without Overreaction
There are many indisputable facts about last week’s violent and deadly incursion into the Capitol building. It is beyond debate that the fiasco included multiple criminal acts.…
Questions to Guide an Investigation of the Capitol Attack
The invasion of the United States Capitol was an entirely predictable event, which makes the wholesale security collapse all the more unconscionable.
Incitement Timeline: Year of Trump’s Actions Leading to the Attack on the Capitol
A highly detailed chronology of the year leading up to the attack on the Capitol.