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
FBI Building in Miami, Florida.

ODNI’s 2019 Statistical Transparency Report: The FBI Violates FISA…Again

Buried in the ODNI's 2019 statistical transparency report—released on Thursday—is information about a major instance of non-compliance with the law that ODNI hasn’t previously…
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban leaves following a meeting during the second day of a special European Council summit in Brussels on February 21, 2020 held to discuss the next long-term budget of the European Union (EU). Staff and reporters surround him.

The EU Should Quarantine its Autocrats

The Hungarian and Polish governments’ exploitation of the COVID-19 pandemic for their own ends poses a significant challenge for the EU with consequences that will be present…
Police wearing face masks, helmets, and carrying clear riot shields walk through the International Finance Center shopping mall on April 28, 2020 in Hong Kong, China, where a protest (not shown) is being held.

Can We Finally Admit That “One Country, Two Systems” Is Dead in Hong Kong?

Things in Hong Kong were supposed to be different. After the People’s Republic of China (PRC) assumed sovereignty over the former British colony, the territory was supposed to…
Government Technology Agency (GovTech) staff demonstrate Singapore's new contact-tracing smarthphone app called TraceTogether, as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Singapore on March 20, 2020.

As the U.S. Risks Reopening for Business, Technology Alone Won’t Stop the Coronavirus

Bluetooth contact-tracing apps could be a tool for returning to some version of normal, but only within limits and with robust safeguards,
Barr and Trump

Keeping an Eye on the Hand of Justice: Bill Barr and Targeting Joe Biden

Former Acting Attorney General Stuart Gerson (served with Bill Barr in the George HW Bush administration) and Kristy Parker (15-year DOJ career) warn of the weaponization of the…
German police officers escort a veiled woman and two children outside the association linked to mosque Ibrahim Alkhalil in Berlin's central Tempelhof-Schoeneberg district, on September 22, 2015 where they conduct raids targeting individuals suspected of inciting people to go and fight for the Islamic State group in Syria.

Why Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism Law and Practice Is Failing a Human Rights Audit

Current approaches to preventing and countering violent extremism programs lack a consistent grounding in rule of law or human rights.
Side by side photographs of Liza Goitein, Andrew McCabe, Mary McCord, and Julian Sanchez.

Top Experts Analyze Inspector General Report Finding Problems in FBI Surveillance

Expert takes on the Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz's recent report on FBI procedures for obtaining secret warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance…
A man wearing a mask sits outside a barber shop in Lilburn, Georgia on April 24, 2020.

Federal vs. State Powers in Rush to Reopen Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

As governors start reopening their states, what could the White House and federal government do to stop it if the feds wanted to?
Soldiers attached to the 101st Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade from the 1034th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, Iowa National Guard and 10th Mountain, 2-14 Infantry Battalion, Ghost Forward Support Company load onto a Chinook helicopter to head out and execute missions across the Combined Joint Operations Area- Afghanistan

Why We Filed a FOIA Request on How Many US Troops Are in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria

Last night, Just Security filed FOIA requests with the Defense Department seeking U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is seen on a laptop screen photographed in a flat in Budapest, as he makes an announcement from his office of the Carmelite monastery at the Buda Castle, broadcasted over the internet, on April 9, 2020, as the government extended the partial curfew for an indefinite time in Budapest.

Hungary Should Not Become Patient Zero

Hungarians now face a double threat: Alongside the COVID-19 pandemic, we also have to step up the fight against illiberal contagion.
A member of the Army National Guard checks his phone at a COVID-19 drive-thru testing site on April 20, 2020 in Brooklyn, New York.

Assessing Emergency Powers During #COVID-19

Just Security plans to highlight and give voice to legal and civil society voices from across the globe, assessing the specific legal consequences of declared and de facto emergencies.
A redacted document with blurry text where there aren’t redactions.

A District Court Endorses a Broken Prepublication Review System

Last week, a district court in Maryland dismissed a constitutional challenge to the system of prior restraints that prohibits millions of former intelligence agency employees from…
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