University of Wisconsin–Madison

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Haddad and Sundstrom (2023), “Foreign Agents or Agents of Justice? Private Foundations, Backlash Against Non-Governmental Organizations, and International Human Rights Litigation”

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Heidi Nichols Haddad and Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom. “Foreign Agents or Agents of Justice? Private Foundations, Backlash Against Non-Governmental Organizations, and International Human Rights Litigation.” Law & Society Review, vol. 57, no. 1 (2023): 12-35. This article critically examines the claim behind Russia’s 2012 “Foreign Agents” Law that foreign funding drives NGO agendas, focusing on human …

Hendley (2022), “Legal Dualism as a Framework for Analyzing the Role of Law Under Authoritarianism”

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Kathryn Hendley. “Legal Dualism as a Framework for Analyzing the Role of Law Under Authoritarianism.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science, vol. 18, no. 1 (2022): 211-226. This article reexamines Ernst Fraenkel’s concept of the dual state, proposing the idea of legal dualism as a useful framework for understanding law under authoritarianism. Legal dualism …

Van der Vet (2018), “‘When They Come for You’: Legal Mobilization in New Authoritarian Russia”

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Freek Van der Vet. “‘When They Come for You’: Legal Mobilization in New Authoritarian Russia.” Law & Society Review, vol.  52, no. 2 (2018): 301-336. This article investigates how Russian lawyers respond to escalating state repression under the country’s “new authoritarian” legal regime, marked by restrictive laws on NGOs, surveillance, and treason. Drawing on interviews, …

Moustafa (2014), “Law and Courts in Authoritarian Regimes”

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Tamir Moustafa. “Law and Courts in Authoritarian Regimes.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science, vol. 10, (2014): 281–299. This article surveys emerging research on the role of courts in authoritarian regimes, challenging earlier assumptions that they function solely as instruments of repression. It highlights how courts can serve as tools of governance, shape interactions …

Michelson (2007), “Lawyers, Political Embeddedness, and Institutional Continuity in China’s Transition From Socialism”

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Ethan Michelson. “Lawyers, Political Embeddedness, and Institutional Continuity in China’s Transition From Socialism.” The American Journal of Sociology, vol. 113, no. 2 (2007): 352–414. This article examines how Chinese lawyers navigate professional challenges by developing and relying on political embeddedness, defined as their bureaucratic, instrumental, or personal ties to state actors. Drawing on data from …

Gallagher (2017), Authoritarian Legality in China: Law, Workers, and the State

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Mary E. Gallagher. Authoritarian Legality in China: Law, Workers, and the State. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2017. This book explores how authoritarian regimes may adopt democratic legal institutions to reinforce their rule, using China’s protective labor laws and judicial access as a case study. It analyzes how Chinese workers mobilize these laws and under …

Chua (2012), “Pragmatic Resistance, Law, and Social Movements in Authoritarian States: The Case of Gay Collective Action in Singapore”

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Lynette J. Chua. “Pragmatic Resistance, Law, and Social Movements in Authoritarian States: The Case of Gay Collective Action in Singapore.” Law & Society Review, vol. 46, no. 4 (2012): 713-748. This article examines how legal strategies shape advocacy under authoritarian rule through a qualitative study of Singapore’s gay movement. It analyzes how activists engage in …

Wang (2024), “Embedded Supervision: China’s Prosecutorial Public Interest Litigation Against Government”

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Yueduan Wang. “Embedded Supervision: China’s Prosecutorial Public Interest Litigation Against Government.” Regulation & Governance, (2024): 1-41. This study challenges the assumption that diminished institutional autonomy necessarily weakens legal oversight in authoritarian regimes. Focusing on prosecutor-led public interest litigation in China, it shows that legal professionals can, under certain conditions, enhance their influence over state agencies …

Wang and Xia (2024), “State-Sponsored Activism: How China’s Law Reforms Impact NGOs’ Legal Practice”

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Yueduan Wang and Ying Xia. “State-Sponsored Activism: How China’s Law Reforms Impact NGOs’ Legal Practice.” Law & Social Inquiry, vol. 49, no. 1 (2024): 451–77. This study explores how attorneys and law-related NGOs navigate legal opportunities in China amid ongoing democratic backsliding. Following “law-based governance” reforms that professionalized the judiciary, expanded legal aid, and granted …

Judicial misconduct complaint filed by Justice Dept. against Judge James Boasberg is dismissed

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A federal appeals court judge, Jeffrey Sutton, dismissed a judicial misconduct complaint the United States Department of Justice filed against James Boasberg, ruling that the department failed to provide sufficient evidence to substantiate allegations that he made improper remarks about Donald Trump during a closed-door meeting of the Judicial Conference of the United States. The …