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
Did Trump and His Team Successfully Obstruct Mueller’s Investigation?
Special Counsel Robert Mueller found “numerous links” between Russia and the Trump campaign that are deeply troubling, but the evidence was insufficient to establish a violation…
Annie Donaldson is Not the President’s “Alter Ego”
It could almost be a bar exam question. Under the Executive Branch theory that the president’s senior aides are “absolutely immune” from appearing before Congress, which…
Journalist Watchlist Raises Specter of Civil Rights-Era Secret Surveillance
Throughout his campaign and now his presidency, historians have drawn parallels between President Trump’s treatment of the news media and the Nixon White House’s efforts to…
Congress, Don’t Get Distracted: New Laws Aren’t Needed to Make It a Crime to Accept Foreign Election Help
Focusing on enacting a new law requiring reporting to the FBI is a distraction from holding Trump accountable for what happened during the 2016 election.
Tom Lantos Commission: Enhancing U.S. Ability to Pursue Accountability for Atrocities
I had the honor of testifying last week before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing devoted to “Pursuing Accountability for Atrocities.” My written testimony…
Open Memo 2: The Impeachment Roadmap from 1974 to 2020
"An impeachment holds out the possibility that a Republican Senate acquittal of Trump in a trial superintended by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (the most unpopular Senator in…
Repatriating ISIS Families: An Opportunity to Show that “Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism” Can Work
Working with returning mothers and children may be the best opportunity that any country, or the international community more broadly, will ever have to get preventing/countering…
To Congress: If Russians Seek to Provide Dirt, Make it a Requirement to Report!
The Anti-Collusion Act, introduced Wednesday by Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), would require everyone running for federal, state, or local office to report offers of assistance…
Balancing the Law and Reporting: Reflections on the Assange Indictment and What It Means for Journalists
The superseding indictment of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has again sent First Amendment guardians to the ramparts, when what’s needed is a calm discussion of what threat…
Unfinished Business: What Mueller Didn’t Cover, But Congress Can
An itemization of what the Mueller Report left untouched or undone, and where Congress can pick up the thread.
Norms Watch: Damage to Democracy and Rule of Law in May 2019
Welcome to the latest installment of Norms Watch, our series tracking both the flouting of democratic norms by the Trump administration and the erosion of those norms in reactions…
The Snowden Effect, Six Years On
Six years ago, the world was introduced to a previously unknown government contractor who revealed the National Security Agency (NSA) was conducting an unparalleled level of warrantless…