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
Women and children evacuated from the Islamic State (IS) group's embattled holdout of Baghouz arrive at a screening area held by the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, on March 6, 2019.

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…
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands ahead a meeting in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018.

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…
Papers with the words "Confidential" and "Secret" written across.

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.
Trump and Barr walking together in the White House

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…
) Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden poses for a photo during an interview in an undisclosed location in December 2013 in Moscow, Russia.

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…
Side by side photos of William Barr and Robert Mueller

A Side-by-Side Comparison of Barr’s vs. Mueller’s Statements about Special Counsel Report

"Some of the differences involve near complete contradictions—in other words Mueller’s statement and Barr’s statements cannot both be true."
Fully veiled women and children walk in the northern Kuridish-Syrian city of Qamishli as Uzbek women and children linked to the Islamic State group are handed over to diplomats from the Central Asian country for repatriation, on May 29, 2019.

Time to Bring Women and Children Home from Iraq and Syria

Kazakhstan proves that bringing home the women and children stranded in Iraq and Syria is possible for all countries facing the problem.
U.S. Attorney General William Barr covets his mouth during a farewell ceremony for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein at the Robert F. Kennedy Main Justice Building May 09, 2019 in Washington, DC.

The Missing Bill Barr Obstruction Analysis

"The American public and Congress should demand that the Attorney General disclose his analysis."
BI Director Robert Mueller speaks during a news conference at the FBI headquarters June 25, 2008 in Washington, DC. The news conference was to mark the 5th anniversary of Innocence Lost initiative.

Mueller’s Message: The Obstruction That Nearly Halted Criminal Case Against Russians

"Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s statement on Wednesday may reset the conversation about his investigation’s findings, and how Congress and the American public move forward…
Russian President Vladimir Putin looks at U.S. President Donald Trump during the welcoming ceremony prior to the G20 Summit's Plenary Meeting on November 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Countering Russia’s Malign Influence Operations

Putin’s successes with covert action show that such operations are not only more effective and cheaper than conventional military operations, but they have also resulted in far…

Loopholes Allow Foreign Adversaries to Legally Interfere in U.S. Elections

The Mueller Report established beyond a reasonable doubt that Russia invaded the 2016 presidential election to disrupt our democracy, harm presidential candidate Hillary Clinton…
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