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.
3,157 Articles

The Big Takeaways from the Latest Obstruction Revelations
As the first week of 2018 comes to an end, the chaos surrounding the Trump administration has reached fever pitch. This is largely thanks to a new book from journalist Michael…

Counter-Terrorism and Crackdowns on Civil Society
As countries around the globe contend with the threat of terrorism, the challenges to civil liberties and civil society have never been greater. Acknowledging the threat posed…

International Criminal Court Indictments of U.S. Officials Are not Impossible
The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s long-expected request to open an investigation of U.S. armed forces and the CIA for crimes allegedly committed in Afghanistan…

Alseran v MOD and the Legal Risks in Treating All Captives as Prisoners of War
British and American troops with Iraqi captives in March 2003. (UK MOD) Last month, the English High Court delivered its judgment in favour of the claimants in Alseran and Others…

Mueller Wasn’t Appointed Pursuant to the DOJ Regs (and other assorted flaws in the Manafort suit)
Paul Manafort filed a two-count suit yesterday against Acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Count Two challenges Special Counsel Mueller’s…

Paul Manafort’s Latest Publicity Stunt
What should we make of former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort’s lawsuit against Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and the Justice Department?…

Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (Dec. 2017)
Image: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) speaks about bipartisan legislation to help prevent sexual harassment on Dec. 6, 2017 on Capitol Hill (Alex Wong/Getty) Sign up here to receive…

A Year-End Retrospective
It is disorienting to experience Donald Trump as the central drama in American politics. Yet we’ve been doing so for nearly two years now. The end of the year is a natural time…

Episode 51 of the National Security Podcast: Temporary, Immediate, and Unmonitored Access to this Podcast
Well, 2017 is almost done. No doubt there are a few more kicks-in-the-pants on the way before it’s all said and done, but hey, we can at least offer you one final episode of…

Warrantless Border Searches: The officer ‘searched through every email and intimate photos of my wife’
A U.S. Border Patrol agent stops traffic as immigrants are deported across an international bridge into Mexico on March 14, 2017 from Hidalgo, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)…

Former Top U.S. Attorneys’ Letter to President Trump: Let Mueller Do His Job
Many Americans believe that Special Counsel Robert Mueller needs time and political space to complete his important counterintelligence investigation of Russian interference in…

Former Prosecutor Renato Mariotti’s Tweet Threads on National Security (Dec 15-22)
Image: President Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen after finding out the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing at which he was to appear was canceled, on September…