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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3,536 Articles
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,…
Paper silhouettes of faces overlap one another. All except one are various shades of light grey. The one exception is in red and includes a whistle in the face’s mouth.

Know Your Rights: Whistleblowers and the January 6th Select Committee

"Existing laws have facilitated some of the most important testimony for congressional investigators in recent times."
Designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry speaks during a ceremony at La Primature in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 20, 2021.

Wrong US Call — Haiti Needs a Credible Transitional Government

The Biden administration can still support a successful move to a credible civil society-brokered transitional government in several ways.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin sits next to Israeli Prime Minster Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid as they pose for a group photo with minsters of the new Israeli government on June 14, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel.

As Israeli Leader Bennett Prepares to Visit the White House, Biden’s Message Might Prove Formative

Early actions of Israel's coalition government suggest a marked departure from the era of Benjamin Netanyahu.
A phone showing app icons for WeChat and TikTok. An American flag and Chinese flag are in the background behind the phone.

Balancing Reality and Fear: Why An Alarmist Take on Chinese Influence Operations Is Counterproductive

Five specific reasons not to exaggerate the threat of Chinese cyber influence operations.
Ships from countries participating in exercise Sea Breeze 2018 sail in formation during a photo exercise in the Black Sea, July 13.

Montreux Convention, at 85, Needs Tending for US-NATO-Russia Security and Stability

It would be self-defeating if allies where to push back on Russian challenges to the rules-based order by undermining a rare example of it.
A long list blown up in poster size of "public complaints" against Facebook policies, including the social media giant's political stances, data security lapses, politicization, privacy violations and misinformation, is taped to the outside of their office building during a protest led by the organization Public Citizen in Washington, DC, May 25, 2021.

Facebook’s New Dangerous Individuals and Organizations Policy Brings More Questions Than Answers

The company has responded to criticism with clarifications and revisions, but the rules require a fundamental rethink.
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