Democracy & Rule of Law
Rule of Law
1,044 Articles
Rare U.S. Military Acknowledgment of Civilian Casualties in Yemen—Concerns about transparency persist
In a rare acknowledgment, the U.S. military admitted last night that civilians, including children, “were likely killed” in the commando raid in Yemen on Sunday. This acknowledgment…
Trump’s First Drone Strikes: How to Measure His Approach to Transparency and Accountability
The first drone strikes under President Donald Trump were reportedly launched just a day after his inauguration. According to the New York Times, 17 people were killed in three…
Why the Cartwright Pardon is More Important Than the Manning Commutation
Today’s news of President Obama’s decision to commute most of the rest of Chelsea Manning’s 35-year prison sentence has received (and will receive) significant…
Dissenting from Within the Trump Administration
After the presidential election, many of those who were already working in government or who were considering joining began to ask questions about the ethics of working for a Trump…
Five (Overlooked) Decision Points for the Trump Administration in National Security
What are the decision points that the President-elect’s transition team and incoming administration will likely face over the horizon in the national security arena? News media…
The Office of Special Counsel’s Oversight Role in National Security: A Home for Whistleblowers
To function efficiently and effectively, the government must promote whistleblowing by its employees. This is especially true in the national and homeland security contexts, where…
The Drone Memos Offers a Critique of Obama Administration’s ‘Shortsighted’ Policies on Targeted Killing
There are a lot of books about drones. In addition to fictionalized accounts of drone use and technical manuals, numerous policy books have been written that describe drone technology,…
US-led Coalition Needs to Improve ‘Opaque, Ad Hoc’ Process for Reporting Civilian Casualties, New Report Says
President Barack Obama’s July 2016 Executive Order on Civilian Casualties has improved U.S. monitoring and reporting of civilian casualties caused by its airstrikes, but far…
The Newly Released National Security Framework Report: An Important Step Forward
On Tuesday, President Obama made the case in his final national security speech that staying true to American values is not a weakness, but the country’s greatest strength…
The Bobbitt Version
Beginning in 2002 with the publication of The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace and the Course of History and continuing through Terror and Consent: the Wars for the Twenty First…
Philip Bobbitt’s War Without Tears
In times of war, it’s sometimes said, the laws fall silent—but the laws, and the human rights lawyers who would enforce them, are still faintly murmuring, and these faint murmurs…
The ACLU Goes to War
The Drone Memos collects important memoranda from the Justice Department, addresses by Barack Obama, John Brennan, Harold Koh, Eric Holder and others, executive orders and various…