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
Norms Watch: Tracking the Erosion of Democratic Traditions (Jan. 20-27)
Don’t miss out. Starting today, we’re offering Norms Watch as a weekly email from Just Security. Subscribe here. THE MEDIA This week, the Trump team continued to…
Trump’s First Drone Strikes: How to Measure His Approach to Transparency and Accountability
The first drone strikes under President Donald Trump were reportedly launched just a day after his inauguration. According to the New York Times, 17 people were killed in three…
Norms Watch: Tracking the Erosion of Democratic Traditions (Jan. 13-20)
Sign up here to receive Norms Watch in your inbox each Friday. Last week, we launched a regular series tracking President-elect Donald Trump’s adherence, or lack thereof, to…
The CIA’s New Guidelines for Handling Americans’ Information
In acknowledgment of the mass scale of modern electronic intelligence collection, the Central Intelligence Agency today released newly updated guidelines governing how it treats…
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.…