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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3,366 Articles
In this photo illustration, WeChat, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram,TikTok Messenger, Snapchat and X applications logos are displayed on the screen of an iPhone

Rethinking the United Nations Cybercrime Treaty

The U.N. Convention Against Cybercrime clearly challenges the democratic vision for a free Internet and puts the United States on the spot.
Non-Disclosure Agreement on paper close up

The New Intelligence Community Directive on Prepublication Review: Important Reforms and Critical Omissions

The ODNI's prepublication review directive improves several important aspects of the system, but fails to make certain critical changes.
Elon Musk, left center, and Wendell P. Weeks, right center, listen to President Donald Trump, right, as he meets with business leaders at the White House on Monday January 23, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Musk, X, and Trump 2024: Where are the Legal and Ethical Boundaries?

Analysis of the ethical and legal lines for social media companies in influencing the outcome of a presidential election, in light of Elon Musk's support for former President Trump.
2024 election vote buttons

A 2024 Election Litigation Hot List

The cases include ones affiliated with major political parties, tackling emerging legal fault lines in the 2024 election, and involving issues of trust in the democratic process…
Close shot of Donald Trump between the legs of secret service agents with face bloodied

Political Violence in the United States Is Rising – and It Might Be Up to Americans to Say “Enough!”

How does this moment in the United States fit into trends of political violence, and what might be done to reduce the risk of escalation?
Participants hold up signs in support of TikTok

History Has Already Discredited the TikTok Ban

The TikTok ban is a reincarnation of past reactionary efforts to limit Americans from accessing media from abroad.
The episode title appears with sound waves behind it.

The Just Security Podcast: Strategic Risks of AI and Recapping the 2024 REAIM Summit

Just Security Senior Fellow Brianna Rosen shares key takeaways from the 2024 REAIM Summit and strategic risks of AI in the military domain.

Election Certification Refusers Are a Movement: Georgia Lawsuit Highlights Alarming Trend

"What exactly is happening in Georgia offers insight into trend lines in other parts of the country."
White House with red flowers in the foreground

America’s Overlooked National Security Threat

The United States' deepest constitutional and national security challenge involves not personalities, but structure.
The three women wear head coverings and behind them hangs a banner that reads in part "Peace and Justice...Sudan." One of the women holds a sign showing a tank with the words "NO WAR" and a slash across a red circle.

To Challenge State Capture, the US Needs a Strategy of State Retrieval

The democratic world must side with pro-democracy, peace, and anti-corruption movements in Africa and act against corrupt networks.
The sign is in the colors of the rainbow flag, and the man is surrounded by a crowd of people all looking forward, presumably toward a speaker.

Public-Safety Reform and Preventing Targeted Violence: Two Sides of the Same Public-Health Coin

A call to breakdown silos by jointly addressing targeted violence and other public-safety issues for comprehensive, lasting solutions.
Two armed law enforcement officers stand in a grassy area, watching action off-screen.

The Growing Threat of State Domestic Terrorism Laws to the First Amendment

Since political violence is already criminalized under other state and federal laws, state domestic terrorism laws are arguably unnecessary. These laws create serious, and often…
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