Bojan Bugaric. “Can Law Protect Democracy? Legal Institutions as ‘Speed Bumps.’” Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, vol. 11, (2019): 447-450.
This article investigates how political lawyers in Russia resist emerging authoritarian practices such as disinformation, surveillance, and state secrecy. Drawing on interviews with lawyers and open-government consultants, the study reveals that, even under harsh legal repression, lawyers develop both legal and extralegal tools to challenge the regime. By leveraging audits, transparency rankings, and legal challenges, they undermine state narratives and hold officials accountable. The article highlights the resilient and strategic role lawyers can play in contesting authoritarian legality, particularly in regimes where information control is central to authoritarian legitimacy.