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
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,…
Philip Bobbitt’s War Without Tears
In times of war, it’s sometimes said, the laws fall silent—but the laws, and the human rights lawyers who would enforce them, are still faintly murmuring, and these faint murmurs…
A Duty to Disobey?
The United States is in the midst of an uncertain era of complex global threats. Some have described the nation’s defense policy as one of “forever war.” During this…
The ACLU Goes to War
The Drone Memos collects important memoranda from the Justice Department, addresses by Barack Obama, John Brennan, Harold Koh, Eric Holder and others, executive orders and various…
Keeping Track of Trump’s Conflicts of Interest [Updated Dec. 5]
Since the election, there has been a firehose of news: President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, rumors about Trump’s cabinet picks, a Neo-Nazi conference in Washington,…
Businesslike Government, Presidential Power, and the Erosion of the Civil Service
Immediately after the election, I wrote about the administrative separation of powers, specifically about how the rivalrous and contentious interplay of politically appointed agency…
10 Steps to Avoid Becoming a Tin Pot Kleptocracy (and safeguard our national security in the process)
The President-elect must make his tax returns public. The public at large will then know precisely the nature and form of his extensive business interests. The President-elect…
Will Trump Bring Back Torture? Not if He Learns from the Past and Follows the Law
Since Donald Trump’s election victory last week, attention has turned to figuring out which promises he will keep and which he will abandon. Regarding torture, there have been…
Trump’s Whistleblowers—Whether Limited Pardons for Manning and Snowden Makes Sense Now
Whatever you might have previously thought about the notion of President Barack Obama pardoning Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, the election of Donald Trump changes everything.…