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.
3,431 Articles
Trust, But Verify: Three Grand Jury Reforms to Hold the Government Accountable
Steps should be taken to strengthen grand juries by giving courts and defense counsel more tools to act as a much-needed check on prosecutors.
AI and the Commercial Data Loophole
The Pentagon’s new deals to deploy commercial LLMs on its classified networks provide it with a powerful surveillance capability that could be turned on Americans.
“Zero Evidence”: How Judges and Grand Juries Have Rejected Trump Administration Efforts to Investigate and Prosecute
A detailed record of federal courts and grand juries rejecting the Trump administration’s use of subpoenas, search warrants, and indictments.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court’s First Case
Unpacking the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, what we know about its first case, and what to watch for going forward.
Key Trump Deportation Strategies: Removing, Replacing, and Pressuring Immigration Judges
New data shows how mass firings, loyalist replacements, and pressure tactics are turning U.S. immigration courts into a deportation enforcement arm.
An Initial Readout of Trump’s Election-Interference Speech
An intelligence official on what the declassified material shows—and does not show—about foreign threats and the president’s allegation of an intelligence community cover-up.
How to Choose Which Military Members to Hold Accountable for Illegal Boat Strikes
A retired judge advocate explains how a future administration could decide who to prosecute for the illegal strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats.
Why It’s Wrong to Involuntarily Mobilize Reserve JAGs for Immigration Cases
Federal law specifies that involuntary mobilization is to be used only to provide military forces for war or national emergencies.
Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers, Operation Southern Spear, Operation Absolute Resolve
Collection of expert analysis on the legality of the U.S. strike on Venezuelan vessels in the Caribbean, the consequences of the strike, and related issues.
After Colombia’s Presidential Election, What Next on Climate and Human Rights?
Although too early to tell whether campaign promises will translate into policy, de la Espriella’s platform on climate and human rights marks a departure from the Petro administration.
Justice Gorsuch’s Slaughter Opinion is a Direct Threat to Congress
In light of recent Supreme Court rulings, Congress should act now to assert the full extent of its authority over the federal bureaucracy.
To Audition for the Role of Attorney General, Blanche Is Prosecuting to Please
Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche's prosecutions of Comey and others reveal a pattern of prosecutorial sycophancy — charges brought to please Trump.