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.

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3,150 Articles
Judge gavel on the laptop.

The Freedom of Information Act and Deteriorating Federal Transparency Infrastructure

Weakening FOIA does not merely impair public knowledge — it also reduces the likelihood that abuses will be detected and deterred.
Capitol Building

Congress Has a Responsibility to Ensure Every Defense Dollar Delivers

Introducing bipartisan legislation to reform the Nunn-McCurdy Act, giving Congress greater oversight of defense spending and enforcing accountability for cost overruns.
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 10: U.S. President Donald Trump signs a series of executive orders including 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, a pardon for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an order relating to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and an order for the federal government to stop using paper straws and begin using plastic straws in the Oval Office at the White House on February 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump has signed more than 50 executive orders as of Friday, the most in a president's first 100 days in more than 40 years. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Hard to Kill: The Transnational Survival of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

The global anti-corruption regime that the United States pioneered over many decades is bigger than any one country or regime
The Washington Monument reflects in the Capitol Reflecting Pool at sunset on a warm evening on June 2, 2025 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

“When the Guardrails Erode” Series

Bringing together expert analysis that traces this erosion, assesses the risks for democratic governance, and outlines pathways to rebuild or even reinvent these safeguards.
U.S. President Donald Trump, joined by Republican lawmakers, holds a gavel after signing the "One, Big Beautiful Bill" Act into law during an Independence Day military family picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on July 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)

Congress Shrinking from the World: the Constitution’s Article I in the Shadow of Trump 2.0

Congress has revealed itself less as a coequal branch and more as an accomplice in the marginalization of its own constitutional role in foreign and national security policy.
The Washington Monument reflects in the Capitol Reflecting Pool at sunset on a warm evening on June 2, 2025 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

When Guardrails Erode: An Anti‑Corruption Series

This series aims to document how erosion is happening, what it reveals, and what it demands from those committed to rebuilding and rethinking our systems of accountability.
The hand of a person in a suit peels back a stage curtain.

A Warm Welcome to Mark Nevitt as a Just Security Editorial Board Member!

We are thrilled to welcome distinguished scholar and Emory law professor Mark Nevitt, Commander, JAGC (ret.), as a new member of Just Security's Editorial Board.
Georgian opposition supporters rally in front of the parliament building in downtown Tbilisi on May 26, 2025, Georgia's Independence Day. (Photo by Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE / AFP) (Photo by GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE/AFP via Getty Images)

As Georgian Regime Intensifies Crackdown, U.S. Should Support Its People

Sanctions moving through Congress and a new, vocal U.S. ambassador could help protesting Georgian citizens restore an alliance with the West and avoid a turn to Russia, China.
Emil Bove, President Donald Trump's nominee to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, is sworn in before testifying during his Senate Judiciary Committee nomination hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on June 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. A whistleblower alleged that Bove, President Trump's former personal lawyer, told Justice Department staff to defy court orders and continue to carry out Trump’s deportation plans. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Whistleblower Documents Implicate Emil Bove in Criminal Contempt Order by Chief Judge Boasberg

Email released by whistleblower would presumably implicate Bove in the “contumacious conduct” identified by Chief Judge Boasberg.
Taliban security personnel keep watch after the Eid al-Adha prayers at a checkpoint in Kabul on June 7, 2025. (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

The Taliban’s Slow Dismantling of Afghan Media

The slow death of Afghan media is a tragedy not just for the many brave Afghan journalists, but for the country as a whole.
Demonstrators hold up “Birthright Citizenship” sign outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2025. (Photo by ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Hanging “Like a Guillotine”: Trump v. CASA and the Risk of Statelessness

For the first time in modern history, children born on American soil may be rendered stateless. The risk to non-citizen children is real and urgent.
A color drawing of Daniel Webster arguing before the Supreme Court.

Will to Resist: What Dartmouth Teaches Harvard About Protecting American Freedom

"One of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions arose from the courageous resolve of the Dartmouth College trustees to resist the unlawful encroachments..."
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