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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3,435 Articles
US Capitol building at night.

Know Your Rights: Conversations with Congress

Federal employees have the right to communicate with Congress free from intimidation, bullying and unfair harassment.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Riaboshapka

Ukraine Prosecutor General Announces Audit of Cases Including Firm Linked to Hunter Biden

The Prosecutor General’s announcement comes within twelve hours of the release of text messages showing U.S. diplomats working behind the scenes to advance President Donald Trump…
A page of the unclassified memorandum of U.S. President Donald Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from July 25, 2019 is shown September 27, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Trump’s Extortion of Ukraine Is an Impeachable Abuse of Power

The publicly known facts about President Trump’s interactions with Ukraine constitute a prima facie case for impeachment based on abuse of presidential power.
Demonstrators hold up signs as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee regarding his corruption. April 26, 2018 - Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. A sign reads, “Mr. Corruption.”

For Scientific Integrity in Government, Fix Political Appointments Process

The Brennan Center's National Task Force on Rule of Law and Democracy recommends ways to rein in abuses by converting long-held norms into law.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney in the Oval Office of the White House July 26, 2019.

Ukrainian Funding Delay Created a Paper Trail That Congress Should Follow

The Office of Management and Budget prevented the release of the Ukraine funding through its apportionment authority, a bureaucratic process that necessarily creates a paper trail.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes a question during a press conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on September 26, 2019 in New York City.

Pompeo’s Letter Is the Trump Administration’s Opening Salvo of Obstruction

The Trump administration now seems to be reverting to its previous strategy of total obstruction based on maximalist interpretations of executive authority.
Gregory Craig, former White House counsel to U.S. President Barack Obama, arrives at federal court September 3, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Greg Craig: The Government’s Latest Swing at FARA Enforcement & What Comes Next

In an offshoot of the Paul Manafort case in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, former Obama White House counsel and veteran Washington lobbyist Greg Craig was acquitted…
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies during a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee May 23, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Deciphering the Pompeo-House Clash Over Witnesses

Top congressional oversight expert breaks it down — what are the competing claims, and which ones are stronger or weaker?
A Sudanese demonstrator waves his hands as he stands on the hood of a security forces' vehicle, urging others not to cross the security barrier, during a protest near the presidential palace in Sudan's capital Khartoum on September 12, 2019, calling for the appointment of a new permanent chief of judiciary and prosecutor general.

Bringing the Rule of Law to Sudan

The country's new civilian ministers of justice and foreign affairs outlined their plans at the United Nations and appealed for international support before the window of opportunity…
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a weekly news conference on Capitol Hill on September 26, 2019 in Washington, DC.

There Is No Constitutional Impediment to an Impeachment Inquiry that Concerns National Security

The Constitution assigns the House of Representatives the impeachment power precisely to address situations where an urgent national security risk means accountability can’t…
Trump with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, at the White House on Wednesday, May 10, 2017.

Trump Goes Full Putin—Capitulation Inside the Oval Office

Trump's following Putin's whataboutism not simply for public consumption. He’s apparently internalized it and turned it against the United States.

Top Expert Backgrounder: Trump’s Impeachment–What Comes Next?

Yale Law School's Harold Koh describes the next set of decisions on the current road to impeachment of President Trump.
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