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.
3,168 Articles
Responsibility and the Encryption Debate: A Response to DAG Rosenstein
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Last week, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein gave a speech about encryption at the U.S. Naval Academy, solidifying the Trump administration’s…
AG Sessions’ Shifting and False Statements to Congress on Russia
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for an oversight hearing. This is the first time Sessions will come before the Senate…
ISIS’s Vegas Claim Tells Us More about the Group Than About the Attacker
One day after the cold-blooded murder of 58 people in Las Vegas, the authorities had identified the attacker as Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old man from Mesquite, Nevada. An isolated…
Surveillance “Reform”: The Fourth Amendment’s Long, Slow, Goodbye
Over 16 years after the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent repeated passage or renewal of draconian “temporary” but “emergency” domestic surveillance laws in response, it’s…
Indefensible: Why Guantánamo defense lawyers can’t ethically participate any longer
On Friday, Guantánamo death penalty lawyer Richard Kammen announced in a press release that: Brig. Gen. John Baker, the Chief Defense Counsel for the Military Commissions Defense…
Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (September 29-October 6)
Editor’s Note: 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…
Trump’s Attacks on the Russian Investigation: Not Just Talking, But Slow Walking—and Maybe Worse
Briefing reporters on the status of the Russia investigation, Senators Burr and Warner warned that the Russian government is not yet done meddling in U.S. elections. Their investigation…
Why Posse Comitatus is Not Immediately Applicable to the Military’s Mission in Puerto Rico
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States where 3.4 million U.S. citizens reside, is suffering a humanitarian crisis following Hurricane Maria. Lt. Gen.…
Evidence Mounts that White House Anticipates Damaging Results from Russia Investigation
As the Russia investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller and Congress plow ahead, are there telltale signs that the White House is worried about the eventual findings? According…
Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (September 22-September 29)
Sign up here to receive Norms Watch in your inbox each Friday. THE PRESS AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE Trump again stirs up racial divisions, this time by weighing in on NFL stars’…
Facebook’s Silencing of Refugees Reveals Dangers of Censorship Technologies
Countless Rohingya refugees have tried to record the ethnic cleansing of their communities by turning to Facebook, the social network that promised to give a voice to the voiceless.…
Method to the “Madness”: Dissecting Roger Stone’s Statement to Congress, by a Former Fed Prosecutor
Dissecting Roger Stone’s statement was a very different exercise than my prior dissections of statements by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr., and Michael Cohen. Stone’s statement…