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.
3,152 Articles
Why the Cartwright Pardon is More Important Than the Manning Commutation
Today’s news of President Obama’s decision to commute most of the rest of Chelsea Manning’s 35-year prison sentence has received (and will receive) significant…
Dissenting from Within the Trump Administration
After the presidential election, many of those who were already working in government or who were considering joining began to ask questions about the ethics of working for a Trump…
Norms Watch: Tracking Team Trump’s Breaches of Democratic Traditions
We’re launching a regular series tracking President-elect Donald Trump’s adherence, or lack thereof, to democratic norms. These norms are not necessarily legally required,…
Five (Overlooked) Decision Points for the Trump Administration in National Security
What are the decision points that the President-elect’s transition team and incoming administration will likely face over the horizon in the national security arena? News media…
The Office of Special Counsel’s Oversight Role in National Security: A Home for Whistleblowers
To function efficiently and effectively, the government must promote whistleblowing by its employees. This is especially true in the national and homeland security contexts, where…
The Drone Memos Offers a Critique of Obama Administration’s ‘Shortsighted’ Policies on Targeted Killing
There are a lot of books about drones. In addition to fictionalized accounts of drone use and technical manuals, numerous policy books have been written that describe drone technology,…
US-led Coalition Needs to Improve ‘Opaque, Ad Hoc’ Process for Reporting Civilian Casualties, New Report Says
President Barack Obama’s July 2016 Executive Order on Civilian Casualties has improved U.S. monitoring and reporting of civilian casualties caused by its airstrikes, but far…
The Ninth Circuit’s Constitutional Detour in Mohamud
The Ninth Circuit’s decision in United States v. Mohamud continues a trend of disappointing decisions by lower courts on the constitutionality of FISA Section 702 surveillance.…
The Newly Released National Security Framework Report: An Important Step Forward
On Tuesday, President Obama made the case in his final national security speech that staying true to American values is not a weakness, but the country’s greatest strength…
The Bobbitt Version
Beginning in 2002 with the publication of The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace and the Course of History and continuing through Terror and Consent: the Wars for the Twenty First…
New Counterterrorism Program in Los Angeles: Suspicious Thought Reporting?
The FBI is teaming up with local police in Los Angeles to roll out a new approach to prevent domestic terrorism, called RENEW for “Recognizing Extremist Network Early Warnings.”…
The Investigatory Powers Act: The Official Entrenchment of Far-Reaching Surveillance Powers
What was formerly known as the Investigatory Powers Bill, referred to elsewhere as the “revised Snoopers’ Charter,” has received Royal Assent and, as of Nov. 29,…