University of Wisconsin–Madison

Author: erandle2

Melton, Ginsburg (2014), “Does De Jure Judicial Independence Really Matter?: A Reevaluation of Explanations for Judicial Independence.”

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James Melton, Tom Ginsburg, “Does De Jure Judicial Independence Really Matter?: A Reevaluation of Explanations for Judicial Independence.” Journal of Law and Courts, vol. 2, no. 2 (2014): 187–217. Summary: The relationship between de jure and de facto judicial independence is much debated in the literature on judicial politics. Some studies find no relationship between the …

Epperly (2013), “The Provision of Insurance?: Judicial Independence and the Post-Tenure Fate of Leaders.”

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Brad Epperly, “The Provision of Insurance?: Judicial Independence and the Post-Tenure Fate of Leaders.” Journal of Law and Courts, vol. 1, no. 2 (2013): 247–78.  Summary: Leading explanations of judicial independence argue political competition incentivizes those in power to create independent courts as insurance against uncertain futures. While much work addresses the role competition plays, …

Cohen (2020), “Judicial Colonialism Today: The French Overseas Courts.”

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Mathilde Cohen, “Judicial Colonialism Today: The French Overseas Courts.” Journal of Law and Courts, vol. 8, no. 2 (2020): 247–76.  Summary: France maintains a court system outside of the European continent in so-called overseas regions such as Martinique and New Caledonia. Held as colonies until the 1940s, these territories became part of the French state …

Palermo (2025), “Dictatorship and Judicial Complicity: The Case of Argentina.”

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Omar Palermo. “Dictatorship and Judicial Complicity: The Case of Argentina.” In Transitional Justice and the Criminal Responsibility of Judges. Edited by Claudia Cárdenas Aravena, Jaime Couso Salas, Florian Jeßberger, Milan Kuhli, pp. 46-60. London: Routledge, 2025. Summary: The systematic and widespread failure to investigate crimes committed by the judiciary during Argentina’s most recent civil-military dictatorship …

Khalil (2024), ” ‘This Country has Laws’: Legalism as a Tool of Entrenching Autocracy in Egypt.”

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Heba M. Khalil, “ ‘This Country has Laws’ ”: Legalism as a Tool of Entrenching Autocracy in Egypt.” American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 68, no. 12 (2024): 1597-1615.  Summary: This article investigates the role of legalism and legal processes in entrenching autocratic rule in post-revolution Egypt. In the aftermath of the spectacular street protests that swept Egypt, …

Staton, Reenock, Holsinger (2022), “Can Courts be Bulwarks of Democracy?: Judges and the Politics of Prudence.”

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Jeffrey K. Staton, Christopher Reenock, and Jordan Holsinger, Can Courts be Bulwarks of Democracy?: Judges and the Politics of Prudence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022. Summary: Liberal concepts of democracy envision courts as key institutions for the promotion and protection of democratic regimes. Yet social science scholarship suggests that courts are fundamentally constrained in ways that …

Ríos-Figueroa, Shen-Bayh (2025), “Courts in the Global South.”

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Julio Ríos-Figueroa and Fiona Shen-Bayh, “Courts in the Global South.” Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 28, no. 1 (2025): 151-171. Summary: Research on judicial politics has advanced considerably over the past few decades, particularly in the global South, a geopolitical region that has long been subjected to imbalanced relationships with more industrialized countries in …

Couso (2025), “Judicial Murder in Chile: Patterns, Cases, and Doctrines for Prosecuting Jurists.”

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Jaime Couso. “Judicial Murder in Chile: Patterns, Cases, and Doctrines for Prosecuting Jurists,” in Transitional Justice and the Criminal Responsibility of Judges. Edited by Claudia Cárdenas Aravena, Jaime Couso Salas, Florian Jeßberger, Milan Kuhli, pp. 61-73. London: Routledge, 2025. Summary: This chapter examines the feasibility of grounding attribution of criminal responsibility to judges for judicial behavior …

Gallagher (2017), “Authoritarian Legality in China.”

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Mary E Gallagher. Authoritarian Legality in China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Summary: Can authoritarian regimes use democratic institutions to strengthen and solidify their rule? The Chinese government has legislated some of the most protective workplace laws in the world and opened up the judicial system to adjudicate workplace conflict, emboldening China’s workers to use these …

Ghias (2010), “Miscarriage of Chief Justice: Judicial Power and the Legal Complex in Pakistan under Musharraf.”

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Shoaib A Ghias, “Miscarriage of Chief Justice: Judicial Power and the Legal Complex in Pakistan under Musharraf.” Law & Social Inquiry, vol. 35, no. 4 (2010): 985–1022.  Summary: This article explores the struggle for judicial power in Pakistan under Pervez Musharraf focusing on two questions. First, how did pro‐Musharraf regime judges expand judicial power, leading to …