Our Mission
The Lawyers and Democratic Decline (LADD) project brings together an international community of scholars investigating the role of lawyers in resisting — and at times enabling — authoritarianism in contexts of democratic backsliding.
Through collaborative research, comparative analysis, and public events, LADD explores how legal professionals navigate repression, uphold democratic norms, and negotiate their professional identity in times of political crisis.
Updates
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Blanche said the ‘weaponization fund’ was dead. Now the Justice Department is appealing
Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter filed notice on September 11 that the Justice Department will appeal to the Eleventh Circuit from Judge Kathleen Williams’s July order dismissing the President’s and…
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Türkiye: lawyers arrested in connection with LGBTQ protests
Between September 12 and 14, coordinated police raids across five Turkish cities targeted organisations defending LGBT rights, part of an operation the justice minister said involved 162 people under investigation; Human Rights…
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A crisis is shaking Brazil’s Supreme Court. Here’s what to know
The Associated Press sets out how the collapse of Banco Master, a mid-sized bank shut down last November after a fraud investigation, has reached the Brazilian Supreme Court three weeks before a presidential…
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Iran: a year of pressure on lawyers, at least 135 targeted by judicial and security authorities
A review of cases documented between September 2025 and September 2026 finds at least 135 attorneys across Iran subjected to judicial and security measures, including summonses, arrests, prison sentences, bans from practising…
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Attorney General Blanche’s appearances at political events blur Justice Department boundaries
Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke on September 16 at an event for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley in North Carolina, a week after addressing the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, and held…
Upcoming Events
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