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
Trump’s Attacks on the Russian Investigation: Not Just Talking, But Slow Walking—and Maybe Worse
Briefing reporters on the status of the Russia investigation, Senators Burr and Warner warned that the Russian government is not yet done meddling in U.S. elections. Their investigation…
Why Posse Comitatus is Not Immediately Applicable to the Military’s Mission in Puerto Rico
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States where 3.4 million U.S. citizens reside, is suffering a humanitarian crisis following Hurricane Maria. Lt. Gen.…
Evidence Mounts that White House Anticipates Damaging Results from Russia Investigation
As the Russia investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller and Congress plow ahead, are there telltale signs that the White House is worried about the eventual findings? According…
Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (September 22-September 29)
Sign up here to receive Norms Watch in your inbox each Friday. THE PRESS AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE Trump again stirs up racial divisions, this time by weighing in on NFL stars’…
Facebook’s Silencing of Refugees Reveals Dangers of Censorship Technologies
Countless Rohingya refugees have tried to record the ethnic cleansing of their communities by turning to Facebook, the social network that promised to give a voice to the voiceless.…
Method to the “Madness”: Dissecting Roger Stone’s Statement to Congress, by a Former Fed Prosecutor
Dissecting Roger Stone’s statement was a very different exercise than my prior dissections of statements by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr., and Michael Cohen. Stone’s statement…
What Does the New Travel Ban Say About Trump’s Relationship to Judges? Stay Tuned…
In coming days and weeks, much of the discussion about President Donald Trump’s new travel ban will focus on its similarities and differences from its predecessors and what those…
What the FISA Warrants Against Paul Manafort Tell Us About Mueller’s Investigation
The Trump-Russia saga has more characters than War and Peace and plot twists harder to follow than Game of Thrones. So making sense of the latest news – that the FBI had…
What Does it Mean that Mueller Got a Warrant to Obtain Facebook Data?
The Wall Street Journal and CNN recently reported that Facebook provided data about Russian advertising purchases made in the run-up to the 2016 election to Special Counsel Robert…
Episode 37 of the National Security Law Podcast: Enemy Combatants, Agents of Foreign Powers
In this week’s episode, Bobby Chesney and I explore three big national security law developments from the past few days. First is that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court…
Former Federal Prosecutor Dissects Trump Lawyer, Michael Cohen’s Statement to Senate
Unlike the statements from Kushner and Trump Jr., which I’ve previously dissected, the statement of Michael Cohen is awkwardly written and does not appear to have any clear…
The Cobb-Dowd BLT Summit Heard ’Round the World
On Sunday, Peter Baker and Kenneth Vogel of the New York Times reported on strains within the White House Counsel’s Office about strategy in responding to the Special Counsel…