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
Incomplete Justice: The Officer Who Killed Walter Scott Should Have Gotten Life Behind Bars
On Thursday, Michael Slager, a former police officer with the North Charleston, S.C. Police Department, was sentenced to twenty years in federal prison—not life imprisonment.…
Why Microsoft Challenged the Right Law: A Response to Orin Kerr
This coming spring, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the United States v. Microsoft – a case that will determine the authority of U.S. law enforcement to compel, via…
Former Prosecutor Renato Mariotti’s Tweet Threads on National Security (Dec. 1-8)
Here is an exposition and analysis of some of this week’s national security-related threads authored by Just Security Editorial Board member and former federal prosecutor Renato…
Thoughts on Erik Prince’s Proposal to Privatize Intelligence Gathering
This week we learned, via the Intercept, of Erik Prince’s proposal to provide the Trump Administration with a private intelligence outfit. According to the Intercept, “The…
Why Don Jr.’s Attorney-Client Privilege Claim Is Dubious
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, met with the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) on Wednesday and raised eyebrows when he invoked attorney-client…
The Collateral Costs of a Logan Act Prosecution
Michael Flynn’s plea hearing last Friday—which I had the good fortune to witness—was accompanied by an extraordinary “Statement of the Offense.” The document indicates…
Hayden, NSA, and the Road to 9/11
Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA and CIA (and now, a national security analyst at CNN), has recently emerged as a leading critic of the Trump administration,…
Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (Nov. 2017)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to the latest installment of Norms Watch, our series tracking both the flouting of democratic norms by the Trump administration and the erosion of…
Why Trump’s Lawyer is Dead Wrong on Obstruction of Justice
President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, John Dowd, now claims that the president “cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer” under Article…
What Questions Does Flynn’s Plea Agreement Raise?
Michael Flynn’s plea agreement, announced Friday, brought with it new documents, new details, and so many new questions. The really big ones stem from the statement of offense,…
Special Edition Just Security Podcast: Mike Flynn’s Plea Deal
I sat down with former White House lawyer Andy Wright to have a quick conversation about today’s news that President Donald Trump’s former National Security Advisor…
What Does Flynn Plea Deal Mean?
Special Counsel Robert Mueller announced this morning that a plea hearing for retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, would…