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

DOJ Pushes to Expand Hacking Abilities Against Cyber-Criminals
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Department of Justice is seeking increased authority to remotely search not only computers but also cloud based services to which those…

An End to Dragnet Surveillance?
The New York Times report that President Obama will call for an end to the bulk collection of American’s telephone metadata is yet further vindication for Edward Snowden in particular,…

The So-Called Huawei Scandal and the Snowden Operation
We should spy on China. And Russia. And Iran. And plenty of other countries too. They are our political, diplomatic and economic competitors and enemies. And they spy on us. If…

Is the ODNI Approach to Secrecy and Transparency Evolving?
We flagged this yesterday afternoon on Just Security’s Twitter account, but nevertheless, it is helpful to include a reference here on the pages of the blog as well. Yesterday,…

DiFi vs CIA
More than a few folks have commented on the irony of Sen. Dianne Feinstein—perhaps the most vigorous defender of NSA’s controversial surveillance programs—flipping into…

Debating “The Snowden Operation”: A Victory for Privacy Rights or for Russia?
A Debate between Edward Lucas, Senior Editor of The Economist and author of “The Snowden Operation: Inside the West’s Greatest Intelligence Disaster“ and Stephen Holmes,…

ACLU Takes Phone-Records Challenge to Appeals Court
The ACLU has just filed its opening brief in the Second Circuit in its challenge to the NSA’s phone-records program. The brief—the first appellate brief to be filed in any…

Call for Debate Questions from Readers: Thursday’s Event on “The Snowden Operation” — Edward Lucas vs. Stephen Holmes
This Thursday Just Security along with NYU Law School’s Center for Human Rights and Global Justice will host an event entitled, Debating “The Snowden Operation”: A Victory…

Who Watches the Watchers?–A Rejoinder to Steve Vladeck
I am grateful for Steve’s careful response to my post, “Democratic Platitudes,” which examined his original post, “Does Espionage Porn Make Us Stronger?” Having benefited…

RightsCon, March 3-5, San Francisco
Further to all our coverage of the use and abuse of digital technologies, I commend RightsCon to our readers—a gathering of the Silicon Valley (and beyond) tech community, digital…

Miranda: Blame Parliament Before Blaming the Courts
In August 2013, David Miranda, partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, was transiting through Heathrow, on his way from Germany to Brazil when he was detained and searched under…

Espionage Porn and Democratic Platitudes: A Response to Rahul Sagar
I don’t have much to say in reply to Rahul Sagar’s thoughtful response to my January 23 post, “Does Espionage Porn Make Us Stronger?” Much of that is because,…