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.

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3,168 Articles
President Obama speaks into a microphone with other country delegates at a table.

Preventing Violent Extremism in 2017 and Beyond: Fading or Renewed UN and U.S. Leadership?

The current UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and U.S. President Barack Obama will both leave office in January 2017, with at least one common legacy: a more comprehensive framework…
Protestors at Standing Rock Indian Reservation stand in the water protesting the Dakota Access pipeline. Police stand across from them blocking them from moving.

Investigating Surveillance Around Standing Rock

An anonymous Facebook plea recently went viral, asking people to check in to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation to thwart police surveillance of the Dakota Access pipeline protesters.…
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US Transparency Regarding International Law in Cyberspace

Last Thursday, State Department Legal Adviser Brian Egan, delivered an important speech at Berkeley Law School on the relationship between international law and cyber activities. …

Donald Trump’s Drone War

My new book, The Drone Memos, will be published by The New Press today.  The Guardian is running a 4000-word slice of the 20,000-word introduction on its website this morning.  The…
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The Case Against Serving

Two of my friends, both of them principled and talented conservatives, told me they were approached by members of the Trump team about possible posts in the incoming administration.…
The outside of the Department of State Building in Washington, DC. Two people stand outside. A tree stands tall at the entrance.

Anticipating Trump: Should Government Lawyers Stay or Go?

[Editors’ note: This post is the latest in Just Security’s series on the ethical and legal dilemmas of serving in the Trump administration. On Friday, Jon Michaels wrote…
A lion tamer holding a pitch fork in one hand and a whip in the other makes a face at four lions standing on stools at Bertram Mills Touring Circus.

Let’s Be Careful Not to Box in President-Elect Trump—How to Build Exit Ramps

The ACLU has published a full-page open letter in the New York Times to President-elect Trump—a show of force of the significant legal power of the organization. Forgive that…

Administrative Checks and Balances in the Trump Administration

Raise your hand if you went to bed Tuesday thanking James Madison for the gift of separation of powers.  For years, scholars and pundits have resented that gift, railing against…
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Why I’m a Federal Courts Nerd (and You Should Be, Too)

In addition to the election, yesterday was also the first anniversary of the terribly untimely passing of my college mentor, Professor Nasser Hussain. And this past weekend, the…

Video: National Security and Transparency in this Administration and the Next

Thanks so much to everyone who made it out to our three-year anniversary event last night. And thanks again to our co-sponsors, the American Civil Liberties Union and the New…

10 Questions to Ask Yourself When Reading Jameel Jaffer’s “The Drone Memos”

Jameel Jaffer’s new book, The Drone Memos: Targeted Killing, Secrecy, and the Law, will be published on November 15, and hard copies will also be available at Just Security’s…

UK Government’s Disappointing Dodge on Drones

A Royal Air Force Reaper RPAS (Remotely Piloted Air System) at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan- Wikimedia Commons [This post was first published 2:50EDT] The UK Government recently…
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