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

Closing Section 702’s Front-Door Search Loophole: A Critical Protection for Americans
As the December 31st expiration date for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) approaches, the debate over reauthorization is in full swing. Most of the…

NYU Law Forum: “National Security: The Role of Senior Advisers in the White House”
On October 18, the Latham & Watkins Forum at NYU Law presented discussion on “National Security: The Role of Senior Advisers in the White House.” Just Security…

Q&A with Cass Sunstein on “Impeachment: A Citizen’s Guide”
Cass Sunstein’s new book, “Impeachment: A Citizen’s Guide,” published by Harvard University Press, is “a love letter to the United States of America,”…

Facebook Users Have the Right To Know How They Were Exposed to Russian Propaganda
On November 1st, Facebook’s general counsel, Colin Stretch, will testify before the House and Senate intelligence committees as part of the congressional investigations into…
Recap of Recent Pieces on Just Security (Oct. 14-20)
ISIS, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen Amarnath Amarasingam, Jade Parker, and Charlie Winter, ISIS’s Vegas Claim Tells Us More about the Group Than About the Attacker Nadim Houry, What…

Sessions Changes his Story on Russian Contacts in Senate Testimony
On Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions changed his story yet again about what he discussed with Russian officials during the 2016 election. While he initially denied having…

Responsibility and the Encryption Debate: A Response to DAG Rosenstein
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Last week, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein gave a speech about encryption at the U.S. Naval Academy, solidifying the Trump administration’s…

AG Sessions’ Shifting and False Statements to Congress on Russia
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for an oversight hearing. This is the first time Sessions will come before the Senate…

ISIS’s Vegas Claim Tells Us More about the Group Than About the Attacker
One day after the cold-blooded murder of 58 people in Las Vegas, the authorities had identified the attacker as Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old man from Mesquite, Nevada. An isolated…

Surveillance “Reform”: The Fourth Amendment’s Long, Slow, Goodbye
Over 16 years after the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent repeated passage or renewal of draconian “temporary” but “emergency” domestic surveillance laws in response, it’s…

Indefensible: Why Guantánamo defense lawyers can’t ethically participate any longer
On Friday, Guantánamo death penalty lawyer Richard Kammen announced in a press release that: Brig. Gen. John Baker, the Chief Defense Counsel for the Military Commissions Defense…

Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (September 29-October 6)
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…