Hilbink (2007), “Judges beyond Politics in Democracy and Dictatorship: Lessons from Chile,”

Lisa Hilbink, Judges beyond Politics in Democracy and Dictatorship: Lessons from Chile. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Summary: Why did formerly independent Chilean judges, trained under and appointed by democratic governments, facilitate and condone the illiberal, …

Ginsburg (2008), “Administrative Law and the Judicial Control of Agents in Authoritarian Regimes.”

Tom Ginsburg. “Administrative Law and the Judicial Control of Agents in Authoritarian Regimes,” in The Politics of Courts in Authoritarian Regimes. Edited by Tom Ginsburg and Tamir Moustafa, pp. 58-72. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. …

Cheesman (2011), “How an Authoritarian Regime in Burma Used Special Courts to Defeat Judicial Independence,”

Nick Cheesman, “How an Authoritarian Regime in Burma Used Special Courts to Defeat Judicial Independence.” Law & Society Review, vol. 45, no. 4 (2011): 801–30.  Summary: Why do authoritarian rulers establish special courts? One view …

Basabe-Serrano (2015), “Informal Institutions and Judicial Independence in Paraguay, 1954-2011”

Santiago Basabe-Serrano, “Informal Institutions and Judicial Independence in Paraguay, 1954-2011.” Law & Policy, vol. 37, no. 4 (2015): 350-378. Summary: This article explains how informal institutions have prevented the emergence of autonomous judges in Paraguay between …

Varga (2013), “Legal Mentality as a Component of Law. Rationality Driven Into Anarchy in America”

This article critiques the mythologized self-image of lawyers as neutral experts, arguing that in the absence of broader societal consensus, their function becomes both overextended and ideologically fraught, raising urgent questions about the legitimacy and limits of legal authority in postmodern, fragmented democratic societies.