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.
3,168 Articles
Still Secret: Second Circuit Keeps More Drone Memos From the Public
Secret law has been anathema to our democracy since its Founding, but a federal appeals court just gave us more of it. Almost two centuries ago, James Madison wrote that “[a]…
Al Bahlul’s Commission Conviction and the Pragmatic Jurisprudence of Article III
Editor’s Note: This is the most recent post in a mini-symposium leading up to next week’s en banc oral argument in the DC Circuit in Al Bahlul v. United States. You can…
The Course of Least Resistance: Ignoring the Lessons of History in Responding to ISIS
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…
Power Wars Symposium: Where Did Things Go Wrong? Three Key Moments That Shaped Obama’s Failed Guantánamo Policy
Editor’s Note: This is the latest entry in a symposium Just Security is hosting in conjunction with the recent release of Power Wars: Inside Obama’s Post-9/11 Presidency by…
Lawyering in Secret and the Government’s FOIA Bogeyman
Last week, in Washington, the Central Intelligence Agency’s top lawyer aired a pointed complaint — or was it a warning? — that has been bubbling about for some time. At an…
Secret Law Isn’t the Public’s Fault
Officials in this administration have a funny way of blaming the victim. Did the CIA spy on Senate intelligence committee staffers who were investigating the agency’s torture…
McCain’s Hearing Threat and the Bergdahl Court-Martial
Last month, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, stated his opinion that Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who is currently facing charges before a…
The Assassination Ban and Targeted Killings
In public speeches, administration officials have criticized the use of the word “assassination” to characterize targeted killings carried out by the United States. The administration’s…
A False Choice on Guantánamo Closure
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…
Section 215 and “Fruitless” (?!?) Constitutional Adjudication
This morning, the Second Circuit issued a follow-on ruling to its May decision in ACLU v. Clapper (which had held that the NSA’s bulk telephone records program was unlawful…
The World Doesn’t Need a “Snowden Treaty”
How to best protect privacy in cyberspace is a very difficult question. So is what role the law (domestic and international) should play in ensuring a proper balance between privacy…
The Latest Stumbling Block in the 9/11 Case: Self-Representation and Classified Evidence
Can a military commission defendant represent himself if he can’t see the classified evidence against him? That’s the outstanding issue in the 9/11 case taking place at the…