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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3,183 Articles
flags of Department of Justice and USA

DC Needs a New U.S. Attorney

Why the federal court should act to replace the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Timothy Shea, following his handling of the Roger Stone and Michael Flynn cases.
Afghan men gather near the road as a military convoy by soldiers from the 1st Platoon, 1-64 Armoured Batallion, US Army - operating under NATO - roll-past security patrols at Morghan-Kecha village in Daman district, Kandahar on September 6, 2012.

Here’s What the New DoD Policy on Civilian Harm Should Include

It should standardize good practice and set the bar where it belongs: safeguarding civilian life from the effects of U.S. military operations.
US Army from NATO and Afghan commando forces at a checkpoint during a patrol against Islamic State militants at the Deh Bala district in the eastern province of Nangarhar Province. There are multiple vehicles around the checkpoint.

Grading DOD’s Annual Civilian Casualties Report: “Incomplete”

The new information demonstrates how much progress the department has made and yet how much of a paradigm shift is still needed for full accountability.
William Barr on Fox News April 9 2020. The caption on the screen reads, “Atty Gen Barr on Status of Durham Investigation.”

Barr Ignores Settled Justice Department Policies in Run-Up to 2020 Elections

Apparently seeking to support false claims about the Russia investigation and the president's reelection bid, the attorney general flouts long-settled DOJ policy.
Protesters demonstrate against Facebook policies in Algeria in front of Facebook's headquarters in Paris on November 14, 2019.

The Facebook Oversight Board: An Experiment in Self-Regulation

It's not a "Supreme Court," as Mark Zuckerberg suggested, but it might be the most interesting development in social media self-regulation in a decade.
Rep. Jim Jordan, (R-OH) speaks to Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) during break during a House Judiciary Committee hearing questioning staff lawyer Stephen Castor, representing the minority Republicans, and staff lawyer Daniel Goldman, representing the majority Democrats, in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill December 9, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Ratcliffe’s Radical Positions During the Impeachment Proceedings

"There were many paths open to congressional Republicans in how they addressed the impeachment process. Very few chose Ratcliffe’s approach."
Trump sits during a meeting to sign executive orders in the Hall of Heroes at the Department of Defense on January 27, 2017.

The Looming Crisis of Emergency Powers and Holding the 2020 Presidential Election

A road map to how Trump could use presidential powers to suppress turnout, postpone, or contest election — and what Americans can do about it.
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…
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