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.
3,474 Articles

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…
What Will You Do if Mueller is Fired?
Street protest outside Trump International Hotel and Tower, New York City, March 8, 2017. Photo credit: Melissa Bender “Whether ours shall continue to be a government of laws…

Episode 50 of the National Security Law Podcast: The Big Chill
Are your other podcasts letting you down by taking a holiday break? Never fear, National Security Law Podcast is here! With two hosts who would much rather be podcasting than…

By Weakening Arms Export Controls, Trump’s National Security Strategy Will Create National and Global Insecurity
Saudi Special Forces attend a military show January 15, 2005 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. (Abid Katib/Getty Images) The Trump Administration’s newly launched National Security Strategy…

Despite Years of Recommendations, Government Still Rewards Bad Policies for Body Cameras
In the last several years, we have seen a boom in the use of police body cameras. Departments across the country have adopted the cameras, and most of the nation’s largest cities…

Why it’s Far Worse for Trump to Fire Rosenstein than to Fire Mueller
All eyes are on what Donald Trump will do, as the oracles on Twitter and the Hill have predicted that the president may fire Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller around the holidays.…

The Supreme Court Should Heed Friendly Advice on Microsoft Ireland
President Trump meets with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in the State Dining Room of the White House June 19, 2017 in Washington, DC.…

Confronting Trump: We Can’t Be Outraged About Everything, All of the Time
President Trump signs executive Orders in the Oval Office of the White House, February 3, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Aude Guerrucci – Pool/Getty Images) I reacted…