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.
3,150 Articles

Legal Flaws in the 47 Senators’ Letter to Iran
Since John Marshall stated in Congress in 1800 that the President is the sole representative of the United States “with foreign nations,” it has been widely understood…

US Government Makes Slight Concession in Twitter’s Warrant-Canary Suit
The US government last week conceded for the first time that some companies have the right to publish so called “warrant canaries” in a new filing supporting its partial motion…

Beyond Drones: The Next-Generation of Autonomous Weapons Cannot be Developed in Secrecy
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…

Jihad, Counter-Terrorism and Mothers
Women have had a limited presence in counter-terrorism discourses. When women come into view during conversations about terrorism they typically do so as the wives, daughters,…

Gender, Violent Extremism, and Countering Violent Extremism
The role of gender in violent extremism and countering violent extremism (CVE) has long been overlooked, despite being symptomatic of many of the human rights dilemmas CVE efforts…

DOJ Inspector General Complains About FBI Foot-dragging
Late last week, the Inspector General (IG) for the Justice Department sent a letter to Congress complaining of the FBI’s refusal to set a timeline for turning over documents…

Transcript: NSA Director Mike Rogers vs. Yahoo! on Encryption Back Doors
NSA Director Adm. Mike Rogers squared off against top security experts from the tech industry today in a series of exchanges that illustrated the chasm between some leading technology…

An “Islamic State” of Mind
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…

Any Effort to Counter Violent Extremism Must Deal with Religion
Academically, I agree with the thrust of the Obama administration’s efforts not to invoke religion and thereby lend legitimacy to thugs and criminals. The problem with such a…

Guest Post: CVE Efforts Should be Based on Facts, Not Flawed Theories
Ed. note: This guest post was produced as part of the Brennan Center for Justice’s interview series, Rethinking Intelligence. Yesterday, the White House kicked-off a three-day summit…

In Syria – Learning Lessons from the “Success” of Yemen
Since Wednesday’s submission for a new authorization on the use of force against ISIL, many (including in this forum) are talking about the proposed act, how it relates to previous…

Guest Post: US Intelligence Reforms Still Allow Plenty of Suspicionless Spying on Americans
Last week, the Obama Administration released a report and documents cataloging progress toward signals intelligence (SIGINT) reform goals set a year ago by the President in a document…