Democracy
544 Articles

The Cynicism Behind the Administration’s Proposed Forced Labor Tariffs
The labor issues the U.S. Trade Representative claims to investigate are real problems. They should not become pretexts for tariffs the administration already wants.

Making Syria’s Transitional Justice Process Meaningful for Survivors and Communities
One of the central questions facing Syria is whether its emerging justice system can earn the trust of those in whose name it is being built.

US-Central African Republic Deportation Agreement Escalates Attack on Immigrants and Puts Lives at Risk
Congress should demand transparency and require the U.S. government to publicly release third-country deportation agreements, including with the Central African Republic.

Protecting Environmental Rights Defenders Is Key to Giving Communities a Voice
Environmental human rights defenders must be empowered to design and implement their own forms of collective protection to shift the power imbalance.

A Year Later: The Stakes of Ordering Military Personnel to Police American Streets
One year since Trump sent the National Guard to LA, a new report warns military deployments for domestic policing produce escalation, disillusionment, and politicization.

The Lessons of Zambia’s RightsCon Cancellation for International Democracy Promotion
The once-lauded Zambian president's nixing of a major digital rights conference shows the risks of lionizing individual leaders without a backup plan.

Sanctions Gaps and the Governance of Corruption Risk
U.S. foreign policy expert examines how overlapping U.N., U.S., and EU sanctions regimes create legal gray zones and why that breeds corruption risk.

Bang, Bang, Bang: Callais Kills Off the Voting Rights Act
To the extent that the Voting Rights Act served as at least a minimal constraint on political gerrymandering, that constraint is gone.

The Acting DNI and the Intelligence Office Trump Wants
Bill Pulte’s appointment as Acting Director of National Intelligence suggests that ODNI may now be serving a more political function than advising the president.

What Congress Should Do About the President’s Sweetheart Deal in Trump v. IRS
Tax law experts offer three actions that Congress must take to fully unwind the Trump administration’s settlement and hold its architects accountable.

In Addition to Chinese Pressure, a Backsliding Democracy May Explain Zambia’s Decision to Cancel a Major Human Rights Summit
Zambia’s cancellation of RightsCon is an indication not only of China’s influence, but also the country's own democratic erosion under a government that promised otherwise.

The Weaponization of GLOMAG: How Rivals Co-opt U.S. Sanctions to Target Business and Political Opponents
The U.S. human rights and anticorruption sanctions architecture is vulnerable to exploitation by the very actors it was designed to confront.