This page features a curated selection of scholarly works from around the world that examine the role of lawyers in democratic decline and resistance to authoritarianism. The bibliography includes books, articles, and working papers from a range of disciplines — including law, political science, and sociology — that explore how legal professionals respond to democratic erosion, repression, and state capture. By bringing together key contributions from different regional and theoretical perspectives, this collection serves as a resource for researchers, students, and practitioners interested in understanding the complex relationship between the legal profession and democracy.
Analyses of the Framework of the Legal Profession
Aguiar Aguilar (2012). “Institutional changes in the public prosecutor’s office: The cases of Mexico, Chile and Brazil”
Aguilar, A. (2012). Institutional changes in the public prosecutor’s office: The cases of Mexico, Chile and Brazil. Mexican law review, 4(2), 261-290. Given the critical role played by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the criminal …
Alex (2025). “Fuzzy Boundaries: A Mechanism for Group Accumulation of Advantage”
Alex, H. (2025). Fuzzy Boundaries: A Mechanism for Group Accumulation of Advantage. Sociological Theory, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/07352751251378516 This article describes a strategic mechanism, fuzzy boundaries, that groups use to accumulate advantage. In contrast to the dominant …
Ryo (2016), “Fostering Legal Cynicism Through Immigration Detention”
This article examines how immigration detention in the United States under a hardline enforcement regime, especially during the Trump administration, serves not merely as an administrative tool but as a socio-legal mechanism that fosters legal cynicism among detained noncitizens.
Ryo and Peacock (2021), “Represented but Unequal: The Contingent Effect of Legal Representation in Removal Proceedings”
This study investigates how the effectiveness of legal representation in immigration removal proceedings in the United States varies based on judicial and political context.
Roiphe (2019), “A Typology of Justice Department Lawyers’ Roles and Responsibilities”
This article examines the evolving role of U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers under the Trump administration, amid increasing concerns over democratic backsliding.
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Effects of Politics Within the Legal Profession
Trochev & Ellett. (2014). “Judges and their allies: rethinking judicial autonomy through the prism of off-bench resistance”
Trochev, A., & Ellett, R. (2014). Judges and their allies: rethinking judicial autonomy through the prism of off-bench resistance. Journal of Law and Courts, 2(1), 67-91. The social construction of judicial power is a complicated process, …
Wang (2020), “Pre-Empting Court-Civil Society Synergy: How China Balances Judicial Autonomy and Legal Activism”
This article examines the evolving stance of Chinese administrations towards judicial autonomy and legal activism over the past two decades.
Pei (2010), “Rights and Resistance: The Changing Contexts of the Dissident Movement”
This chapter explores how rapid economic growth and legal reforms in China have reshaped the dissident movement by creating new political and legal spaces for rights assertion.
Borsuk, Dinç, Kavak, and Sayan (2021), “Consolidating and Contesting Authoritarian Neoliberalism in Turkey: Towards a Framework”
This chapter examines Turkey’s transformation from a hopeful democratic state to a key example of democratic backsliding under the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Berenson (2000), “Public Lawyers, Private Values: Can, Should, and Will Government Lawyers Serve the Public Interest?”
This article defends the notion that government lawyers have heightened responsibilities to serve the public interest, especially within the unique context of government litigation.
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Ethics and Professional Responsibility
Levin (2025), “The Use of State Discipline to Sanction Attorneys General and Other High-Ranking Legal Officers”
Levin, Leslie C., The Use of State Discipline to Sanction Attorneys General and Other High-Ranking Legal Officers (November 15, 2025). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5753303 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5753303 The United States Attorney General, state attorneys general, and high-ranking officials in …
Kroncke (2025). “Legal Complicity in an Age of Resurgent Authoritarianism”.
Kroncke, J. J. (2025). Legal Complicity in an Age of Resurgent Authoritarianism. Geo. J. Legal Ethics, 38, 75. Faith in end of history narratives emergent at the end of the twentieth century carried powerful ethical implications for …
Berenson (2000), “Public Lawyers, Private Values: Can, Should, and Will Government Lawyers Serve the Public Interest?”
This article defends the notion that government lawyers have heightened responsibilities to serve the public interest, especially within the unique context of government litigation.
Billig (1985), “The Lawyer Terrorist and His Comrades”
This article explores the transformation of Horst Mahler, a young German lawyer, into a founding member of the Red Army Faction—a far-left terrorist group active in West Germany during the 1970s.
O’Brien (2023), “Neither Withdrawal Nor Resistance: Adapting to Increased Repression in China”
In the face of growing repression in China, some lawyers, along with pastors and NGOs, are navigating authoritarian constraints not through resistance but through strategic accommodation.
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Evidence of Lawyers' Resistance
Dias & Schapiro (2026). “Resisting democratic backsliding from within the state: Environmental politics in Bolsonaro’s Brazil.”
Dias, V. M., & Schapiro, M. G. (2026). Resisting democratic backsliding from within the state: Environmental politics in Bolsonaro’s Brazil. Policy Studies Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.70101 The article argues that polycentric governance can enable meaningful resistance to …
Vieira (2024). “Battle of powers”.
Vieira, O. V. (2024). Battle of powers. Wilson Center & FGV São Paulo Law School. n the epilogue of Battle of Powers, Oscar Vilhena Vieira argues that Brazil’s democracy survived the Bolsonaro era because constitutional …
Helmke (2004). “Courts under constraints: judges, generals, and presidents in Argentina”.
Helmke, G. (2004). Courts under constraints: judges, generals, and presidents in Argentina. Cambridge University Press. This study offers a theoretical framework for understanding how institutional instability affects judicial behavior under dictatorship and democracy. In stark contrast …
Urribarri (2011). “Courts between democracy and hybrid authoritarianism: evidence from the Venezuelan Supreme Court.”
Urribarri, R. A. S. (2011). Courts between democracy and hybrid authoritarianism: evidence from the Venezuelan Supreme Court. Law & Social Inquiry, 36(4), 854-884. This article offers a theoretical discussion about courts in “hybrid regimes” that evolve from …
Kureshi (2021). “When Judges Defy Dictators”
Kureshi, Y. (2021). When Judges Defy Dictators. Comparative Politics, 53(2), 233-2. Under what conditions do judiciaries act assertively against authoritarian regimes? The author argues that the judiciary coalesces around institutional norms and preferences in response to the …
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