Julio Ríos-Figueroa, Paloma Aguilar, “Justice Institutions in Autocracies: A Framework for Analysis.” Democratization, vol. 25, no. 1 (2017): 1–18. Summary: What role do justice institutions play in autocracies? The authors bring together the literatures on authoritarian political institutions and on judicial politics to create a framework to answer this question. They start from the premise …
Björn Dressel, Tomoo Inoue, Cristina Regina Bonoan, “Justices and Political Loyalties: An Empirical Investigation of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, 1987–2020.” Law & Social Inquiry, vol. 49, no. 2 (2024): 955–79. Summary: The Philippine Supreme Court is considered one of Asia’s most activist courts. During the regime of President Rodrigo Duterte (2016–22), however, concerns grew …
Maciej Kisilowski, “The Middlemen: The Legal Profession, the Rule of Law, and Authoritarian Regimes.” Law & Social Inquiry, vol. 40, no. 3 (2015): 700–722. Summary: Scholars are increasingly interested in exploring ways to strengthen the rule of law in authoritarian states—especially when deeper political reforms are not attainable. The article contributes to this discussion by …
Ling Li, “The ‘Production’ of Corruption in China’s Courts: Judicial Politics and Decision Making in a One-Party State.” Law & Social Inquiry, vol. 37, no. 4 (2012): 848–77. Summary: Despite its rampant presence, judicial corruption in China has often been regarded as the idiosyncratically deviant behavior of a few black sheep eluding prescribed judicial conduct. This …
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 …
Tamir Moustafa, The Rule of Law in Egypt: Prospects and Challenges. Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law, Rule of Law Quick Scan Series, April 2012. Summary: In the wake of Hosni Mubarak’s fall in 2011, Egypt stood at a critical juncture with the chance to rebuild its political and legal institutions. Moustafa situates the …
Tamir Moustafa, “Law versus the State: The Judicialization of Politics in Egypt.” Law & Social Inquiry 28, no. 4 (2003): 883–930. Summary: Why would an authoritarian regime empower a constitutional court? Moustafa explains Egypt’s paradox by arguing that the regime created an independent Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) chiefly to make credible commitments to protect property …
Rachel E Bowen. The Achilles Heel of Democracy: Judicial Autonomy and the Rule of Law in Central America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Summary: Featuring the first in-depth comparison of the judicial politics of five under-studied Central American countries, The Achilles Heel of Democracy offers a novel typology of ‘judicial regime types’ based on the political …
Kirk A. Randazzo., Douglas M. Gibler., & Rebecca Reid, “Examining the Development of Judicial Independence.” Political Research Quarterly, vol. 69, no. 3 (2016): pp. 583-593. Summary: Scholars who examine judicial independence offer various theories regarding its development. Some argue that it serves as a type of insurance for regimes who believe their majority status is …
Silva Inclán Oseguera, “Judicial Reform in Mexico: Political Insurance or the Search for Political Legitimacy?” Political Research Quarterly, vol. 62, no. 4 (2009): pp. 753-766. Summary: Judicial reform presents a paradox: What makes governing elites decide to grant power to an autonomous judiciary that will eventually curtail their own powers? The engagement of governing elites in …