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.
3,152 Articles
Letter to the Editor: Chairman Medine’s Dedicated Service to the PCLOB Was a Testament to Bipartisanship
David Medine left the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board on July 1, 2016, after three years of dedicated service and leadership as the board’s Chairman. As the board’s…
Guest Post: What is FBI Director Comey Doing?
Amidst the furor following the FBI and Justice Department’s decision not to charge Hillary Clinton for the handling of her State Department emails, there has been much less attention…
The government’s treatment of civilian casualties in counterterrorism operations [updated]
The government has just released two important documents. One is an assessment by the Director of National Intelligence of the cumulative civilian casualties from U.S. counterterrorism…
International & US Support for Transitional Justice Initiatives
My prior post discussed new policy papers on transitional justice issued by the US State Department and US AID. These policy papers reflect the fact that the United States’…
Looking Back on the Pentagon Papers Decision
In a hallway of The New York Times offices, there is a framed copy of the Telex traffic between the Justice Department and The Times from June 1971 when the government demanded…
Donald Trump and the Ghosts of Joseph McCarthy
Following the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, presumptive Republican presidential nominee and celebrity businessman Donald Trump repeatedly implied that President…
A Less-Secret Drone Campaign
Stephen Whisler, Predators and Reapers 2012, pastel on paper This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor…
Disappointing DOD Inspector General Report on Pre-Publication Review
Editor’s note: This post also appears on Lawfare. Earlier this year, we wrote about the US Government’s broken pre-publication review process (see here, here, here, here, and…
Recap of Recent Posts on Just Security (June 4–10)
I. Cybersecurity Kristen Eichensehr, Giving Up on Cybersecurity — Strategically (Monday, June 6) II. Surveillance & Intelligence Jennifer Daskal, Beware of the Emergency…
FBI Guidelines Weaken Separation of Community Outreach and Intelligence Gathering Efforts
Community outreach programs are a staple of modern law enforcement, designed to build trust, address local concerns, and communicate effectively with the public — at least in…
Beware of the Emergency Exception Loophole in the Email Privacy Act
The Email Privacy Act, which passed the House 419-0, is slated for consideration in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week. The legislation updates the now 30-year old…
Sparring Over the 9/11 Trial Recusal Motion
Anyone who’s been following the military commission prosecution of the five alleged 9/11 plotters at Guantánamo Bay is likely familiar with some of the absurd happenings in…